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 Author: Lauren_Luke View Messages Posted By Lauren_Luke
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 16:17
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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 Topic: Suggestions
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Lauren_Luke (1609)

Location:  Australia, Queensland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 24, 2010 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Brickporium
axaday:
  If I were the king, I think I would put them on a new tree and not go by themes.
Use categories like "Vehicle - Land", "Vehicle - Space", "Animal", "Furniture".
It would be a whole new way for customers to shop Bricklink and a whole new
area for sellers to specialize.

I totally agree.
 Author: Lauren_Luke View Messages Posted By Lauren_Luke
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 16:14
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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 Topic: Suggestions
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Lauren_Luke (1609)

Location:  Australia, Queensland
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Store Closed Store: Brickporium
Pretty_Pieces:
  I have commonly sold minibuilds on the "other" auction site. I never bothered
listing them here.

Fantastic. So this may be an untapped market for BL and BL Sellers!
 Author: Lauren_Luke View Messages Posted By Lauren_Luke
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 16:13
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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Lauren_Luke (1609)

Location:  Australia, Queensland
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Store Closed Store: Brickporium
Miro78:
  There are some obvious builds like the characters from Cars, brickbuilt figures like Groot, the giant Antman and such, train cars, but then it it's not so clear on the smaller builds that are not attached to the main set build.

I agree. However, I think an organic evolution of this would be the best approach,
such as axaday suggests:

  
  ...I don't think we would have to make a complicated set of rules about what was and wasn't acceptable either. Just leave it up to what people want to submit. [axaday]

This would mean a whole new additional request-approval procedure for admins.

Miro78:
  There are lots of little minibuilds across various themes/subthemes and I am not sure how they will be easily cataloged in what would require a whole new branch of the catalog.

Yes, I agree there would have to be a whole new branch of the catalog, i.e. ‘minibuilds’.

Admin_Russell also agrees with this:

  
  ...another type of item would ultimately need to be created... [Admin_Russell]

Miro78:
  Would they be classified under their themes and subthemes. How will they be easily found. If I just want a brickbuilt trashcan, how will one know what theme and subtheme to find it under. The character ones would be fairly simple to find by name, but some accessory minibuilds would seem to lurk in the shadows of the catalog, to be never found or browsed. There needs to be an early decision to differentiate between an ambiguous figure being a minifig or a minibuild.

Yes, a major classification structure would have to be agreed upon before the
minibuilds are loaded. This would require discussion and research. On the face
of it I think it would be beneficial to classify (i.e. structure) minibuilds
by what they are / setting.

Miro78:
  Additionally it would take a huge undertaking to re-catalog many of these.

WoutR:
  ...a lot more inventory work, and that also means a lot more verification work for our inv.admin

I agree, however, we are not adding any new parts only new inventories. I know
that sounds glib, I have worked in database/programming for over twenty years
so I do know how something that sounds easy to the user is in fact a huge operation
for the programmer. I suppose we must look at the return on investment (of time
and money). Sellers and BL are not bringing anything physical ‘to the table’,
only providing an extra way to part-out a set. The time and money for BL to
set it up (new minibuild branch) and the extra work involved by Sellers and BL
(I presume the collaborative community spirit is still here at BL) to manage
it (request-approve) needs to be balanced against a gain in sales (good for sellers
and BL) and an extra avenue for buyers. Sellers are already adding minibuilds
as incomplete sets in the current ‘set’ branch of the catalog, so I presume there
is a demand.

Miro78:
  The sticker sheets is one of the biggest issues that I can't figure out the best way to handle the issue without making the minibuild seem incomplete if omitted, but if the stickers are applied, then it would classify them as used.

I agree, and yorbrick gave an example of this:

  
  ...this type is even worse:

 
Minifig No: dp029  Name: Cogsworth without Stickers
* 
dp029 Cogsworth without Stickers
Minifigures: Disney: Disney Princess: Beauty and the Beast
Marked for Deletion

Sellers will not want to cut a sticker sheet, because that would invalidate the
‘new’ status of the minibuild, and if they add the sticker sheet to one minibuild,
then that would prevent stickers for other minibuilds and/or the main build (since
there is only one sticker sheet per set)! I suppose we will have to live with
examples of dp029 Cogsworth.

Another approach taken by AaronHeng in his minibuild of Ironman suit from set
‘#76105-1 The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition’, is that he has changed the minibuild
to omit the stickered parts (see attached image).

 
Set No: 76105  Name: The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition
* 
76105-1 (Inv) The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition
1358 Parts, 1 Minifigure, 2018
Sets: Super Heroes: Avengers Age of Ultron
https://store.bricklink.com/AaronHeng?itemID=139793517#/shop?o={"invID":"139793517"}

Miro78:
  Ultimately, people will probably still list sets as incomplete to gain better visibility and to dump off the rest of the unwanted minibuilds in 1 sale as opposed to various minibuilds.

I guess most of the minibuilds (actually incomplete sets) are where the seller
has taken out the parts they want (usually minifigs) and dumped the rest as set-incomplete
in one sale, but they have to sometimes go to great lengths in their description
to explain what they have on sale and what has been taken out (again usually
minifigs). They have to do this specifically for the novice buyer. If there
were a proper structure (i.e. what we are discussing here) then then seller would
not have to go into an elaborate ‘liability clause’ and the buyer (novice or
not) would know exactly what they are buying. In fact, with minibuilds available
as a new catalog branch, could we eliminate the ‘incomplete’ status (new and
used)? Is the ‘new-incomplete’ set supposed to be for minibuilds; a rampaged
set; or, a set in a box that was damaged and a sealed bag fell out (or a mixture
of the three)? What is the definition of a 'used-incomplete' set?

Miro78:
  As far as the catalog price averages issue, I think incomplete sets need to be marked as incomplete and sale of those should not be listed or used for calculations of averages. Perhaps that is already what is happening, I just wouldn't know.

Doing a quick investigation (and only one sample set - sorry) of the price guide
for set ‘#76105-1 The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition’, it appears that the one minibuild
(new-incomplete set) is not included in the average price calculations. See:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?S=76105-1&ColorID=0
 
 Author: WoutR View Messages Posted By WoutR
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 16:02
 Subject: Re: Stop counting neutral feedback as negative
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WoutR (920)

Location:  Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 8, 2011 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, Dino1 writes:
  Where is the percentage for buyers?

I don't know.
For buyers, we still use the old system.
 Author: Dino View Messages Posted By Dino
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 15:52
 Subject: Re: Stop counting neutral feedback as negative
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Dino (479)

Location:  Luxembourg
Member Since Contact Type Status
Oct 22, 2003 Contact Member Seller
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Store: dino's world
Where is the percentage for buyers?
 Author: Pretty_Pieces View Messages Posted By Pretty_Pieces
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 15:13
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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 Topic: Suggestions
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Pretty_Pieces (378)

Location:  Canada, Alberta
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 29, 2017 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Pretty Pieces
I have commonly sold minibuilds on the "other" auction site. I never bothered
listing them here.

Specifically, the Tardis and control room (separately) of
 
Set No: 21304  Name: Doctor Who
* 
21304-1 (Inv) Doctor Who
526 Parts, 6 Minifigures, 2015
Sets: LEGO Ideas (CUUSOO): Doctor Who
, and the
police car from
 
Set No: 70912  Name: Arkham Asylum
* 
70912-1 (Inv) Arkham Asylum
1572 Parts, 13 Minifigures, 2017
Sets: Super Heroes: The LEGO Batman Movie
(no stickers included).

Dawn
Pretty_Pieces
 Author: WoutR View Messages Posted By WoutR
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 15:13
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
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 Topic: Suggestions
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WoutR (920)

Location:  Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 8, 2011 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, matejo writes:
  And a question (or questions) for a question (not addressed to you), why does
BrickLink not address this decade-old concern?

Is there a bona fide problem with giving sellers & buyers say "only" 6 days to
get something done (like the courtesy of sending of simple message) rather than
the current 14 days?

If yes, what's the problem?

Is instant checkout their one-size-fits-all solution?

Have they told anyone this?

If they have, is there some place to find their positions outside of this needle-in-a-haystack
forum (where I add hay such as this), where administrators' positions are
very low in number and extremely hard to find?

Are they taking the eBay road and discounting the importance of low volume buyers
and sellers?

And did I say "Whoopdeedoo" yet?

In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  Why not make sure that every buyer has to use the instant checkout? That should
solve your problem.

Personally, I think that the first 7 days are reasonable. When shit happens to
someone, it is easy to be distracted/overwhelmed for a few days. Once a claim
escalates to NPB/NSS/NRS, then the waiting period of ANOTHER 7 days is long.
It is reasonable to expect immediate action at that time.

I would propose something like 7 + 3 days.
 Author: alahaka View Messages Posted By alahaka
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 15:04
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
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alahaka (645)

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 1, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Sairai
And a question (or questions) for a question (not addressed to you), why does
BrickLink not address this decade-old concern?

Is there a bona fide problem with giving sellers & buyers say "only" 6 days to
get something done (like the courtesy of sending of simple message) rather than
the current 14 days?

If yes, what's the problem?

Is instant checkout their one-size-fits-all solution?

Have they told anyone this?

If they have, is there some place to find their positions outside of this needle-in-a-haystack
forum (where I add hay such as this), where administrators' positions are
very low in number and extremely hard to find?

Are they taking the eBay road and discounting the importance of low volume buyers
and sellers?

And did I say "Whoopdeedoo" yet?

In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  Why not make sure that every buyer has to use the instant checkout? That should
solve your problem.
 Author: chetzler View Messages Posted By chetzler
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 15:04
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
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chetzler (2330)

Location:  USA, Minnesota
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 12, 2005 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Lost Boys' Brick Shop
In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, matejo writes:
  Hi,

The new buyer's level of effort required to tie up any given seller's
inventory for 14 to 21 days still stands a very, very firm almost none.

I get that irresponsible and indifferent buyers present a difficult challenge,
but the NPB process needs to be significantly shortened to make it something
less than a sick joke.

Eight sets and one entire lot are now off the market for 14-days or more. Whoopdeedo.

For any decisive administrator of BrickLink, please take action on behalf of
the responsible BrickLink community.

A good day to any readers, Matthew

Why not make sure that every buyer has to use the instant checkout? That should
solve your problem.

It actually doesn't. I just had to NPB a buyer who used Instant Checkout.
 Author: RobErNat View Messages Posted By RobErNat
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:56
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
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RobErNat (2926)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Sep 26, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: RobErNat's Brick Market
In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, matejo writes:
  Hi,

The new buyer's level of effort required to tie up any given seller's
inventory for 14 to 21 days still stands a very, very firm almost none.

I get that irresponsible and indifferent buyers present a difficult challenge,
but the NPB process needs to be significantly shortened to make it something
less than a sick joke.

Eight sets and one entire lot are now off the market for 14-days or more. Whoopdeedo.

For any decisive administrator of BrickLink, please take action on behalf of
the responsible BrickLink community.

A good day to any readers, Matthew

Why not make sure that every buyer has to use the instant checkout? That should
solve your problem.

And what about non instant payment methods like IBAN/Cash/etc. Auto-checkout
with non instant payment methods will still cause a problems... If autocheckout
becomes more of a 'standard', part of the problem will be solved, but
not 'all', so those should have shorter timeframes depending on 'method'
(and IMHO it should be flexible and a seller setting, not a site wide setting)
 Author: alahaka View Messages Posted By alahaka
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:50
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
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alahaka (645)

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 1, 2006 Contact Member Seller
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Store Closed Store: Sairai
Your point is good.

Given my low volume sales, customers' desires for low-cost shipping, and
the somewhat byzantine world of postal rates, I prefer to manually provide an
accurate shipping rate rather than automate the process.

In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  
Why not make sure that every buyer has to use the instant checkout? That should
solve your problem.
 Author: Admin_Russell View Messages Posted By Admin_Russell
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:47
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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Admin_Russell

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 9, 2017 Contact Member Admin
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
BrickLink Administrator
In Suggestions, StormChaser writes:
  In Suggestions, axaday writes:
  And I don't think we would have to make a complicated
set of rules about what was and wasn't acceptable either. Just leave it
up to what people want to submit.

Complicated rules? I agree that they aren't necessary.

Some clear and simple guidelines will be necessary, though. For example, the
small table with two cups and a teapot in this set:

 
Set No: 40307  Name: Castle Interior Kit
* 
40307-1 (Inv) Castle Interior Kit
115 Parts, 2018
Sets: Disney: Disney Princess: Supplemental

It's a minibuild, but it shouldn't be in the catalog and people will
need a general idea of what likely will and won't be accepted before they
submit builds.

Even though it will involve quite a bit more work for administrators, I think
certain minibuilds should be included in the catalog. Members have been asking
for them for a long time.

The conditions for inclusion in the catalog may be based on perceived partout
value. If an assembly isn't a highly collectible thing itself (i.e. a heavily
branded character) and the parts involved are relatively useful to builders,
we would rather have more consolidated parts listings than split things up between
parts and assemblies.

But in the case of the Juniors Cars sets, the amount of printed parts alone (Juniors
sets do not use stickers) significantly reduces the partout value. Add to that
the juniorized parts such as this:
 
Part No: 30833  Name: Vehicle, Base 6 x 21 x 3
* 
30833 Vehicle, Base 6 x 21 x 3
Parts: Vehicle, Base
and the brand recognition of the Cars characters, and the case for selling as
assemblies grows very strong.
 Author: WoutR View Messages Posted By WoutR
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:45
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
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WoutR (920)

Location:  Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 8, 2011 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, matejo writes:
  Hi,

The new buyer's level of effort required to tie up any given seller's
inventory for 14 to 21 days still stands a very, very firm almost none.

I get that irresponsible and indifferent buyers present a difficult challenge,
but the NPB process needs to be significantly shortened to make it something
less than a sick joke.

Eight sets and one entire lot are now off the market for 14-days or more. Whoopdeedo.

For any decisive administrator of BrickLink, please take action on behalf of
the responsible BrickLink community.

A good day to any readers, Matthew

Why not make sure that every buyer has to use the instant checkout? That should
solve your problem.
 Author: calsbricks View Messages Posted By calsbricks
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:44
 Subject: Change the price guide screen
 Viewed: 97 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
 Vote:[Yes|No]
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calsbricks (8517)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 12, 2008 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: CalsBricks
Currently there is no way you can determine easily from looking at the price
guide what currency conversion has been used to determine the move from USD to
any other currency. As this figure has to be held/determined (calculated) somewhere,
whether in BL or by xe.xom it is available to be displayed and updated as regularly
as the price guide.

If Bricklink displayed that figure it would be very helpful for everyone's
use whether buying or selling. This is especially relevant for the last 6 months
sales which is a floating figure and is not easily determined - (it can be done,
but is very long winded and takes a lot more time and effort to get right.

As for the changes this would require, they are absolutely minimal from a coding
point of view and it would help to solve the never ending threads about currency
conversion and the price guide.


It would also help with Brickstock, but I am sure that is of no concern to Bricklink.
 Author: WoutR View Messages Posted By WoutR
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:43
 Subject: Re: Stop counting neutral feedback as negative
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WoutR (920)

Location:  Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 8, 2011 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, Brick.Door writes:
  Since the change was made to put the large "% Praise" at the top of each store
front page neutral and negative feedback are basically the same thing.

This is not obvious to customers leaving feedback - especially new members.

I suggest to exclude neutral transactions from the % Praise calculation - treat
them the same as if no feedback had been left. This seems more accurate than
counting them as negative.

Also I find it strange that the % praise is calculated to 2 decimal places. Does
anyone really think a 99.74 seller is more trustworthy than 99.68? There are
no standards or guidelines for what makes a positive/neutral/negative transaction
-- it is up to the individual opinion. So there is no way this figure is
that accurate.


I thought that the system is simply letting us know a percentage of positives.
As far as I know nothing is being subtracted. Both neutral and negative are not
positive, so they do not count for the number of positives.

I DO want the neutrals to be included in the calculation. If the seller receives
a lot of neutral feedback, that is certainly a warning sign that I should take
a closer look at the feedback. The positive-feedback-percentage is usually very
high, so those neutrals really do make a difference.
 Author: alahaka View Messages Posted By alahaka
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:38
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
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alahaka (645)

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 1, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Sairai
A correction, I should have just written "buyer-seller communication period"
above & below.

In Suggestions, matejo writes:
  Thank you for your reply,

I think both seller non-shipping and buyer non-paying processes could easily
be shortened to 3 and 3 and 3, rather than the current 7 and 7 and 7 -- (a)
buyer-to-seller communication period, and (b) BrickLink-to-non-communicator period,
and (c) an added three days if non-communicator communicates whatever the circumstances
are.
 Author: alahaka View Messages Posted By alahaka
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:35
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
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alahaka (645)

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 1, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Sairai
Thank you for your reply,

I think both seller non-shipping and buyer non-paying processes could easily
be shortened to 3 and 3 and 3, rather than the current 7 and 7 and 7 -- (a)
buyer-to-seller communication period, and (b) BrickLink-to-non-communicator period,
and (c) an added three days if non-communicator communicates whatever the circumstances
are.

Six (to nine) days is not super fun, but is more than 2x better than fourteen
(to twenty-one) days.

Another thought on the buying side is to have all of us pay BrickLink a dollar
or euro prior to being allowed to buy. If someone wants to mess around, it'll
cost them a buck for the privilege -- most non-serious buyers will likely
find better (or worse) things to do outside of BrickLink.

I'm not yet familiar with unresponsive sellers, the scope of such problems,
and an apparent new lengthy screening process by BrickLink, so do not have any
added thoughts here.

I hope your concern is resolved soon, Matthew

PS on original post: I think Whoopdeedoo is spelled "Whoopdeedoo".
 Author: Pippysblocks View Messages Posted By Pippysblocks
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:35
 Subject: Re: Stop counting neutral feedback as negative
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 Topic: Suggestions
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Pippysblocks (4786)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 20, 2017 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Pippys Blocks
Yes I like this suggestion, I had a 100% until I received a neutral and know
I'll never be able to get my 100% back again.

In Suggestions, Brick.Door writes:
  Since the change was made to put the large "% Praise" at the top of each store
front page neutral and negative feedback are basically the same thing.

This is not obvious to customers leaving feedback - especially new members.

I suggest to exclude neutral transactions from the % Praise calculation - treat
them the same as if no feedback had been left. This seems more accurate than
counting them as negative.

Also I find it strange that the % praise is calculated to 2 decimal places. Does
anyone really think a 99.74 seller is more trustworthy than 99.68? There are
no standards or guidelines for what makes a positive/neutral/negative transaction
-- it is up to the individual opinion. So there is no way this figure is
that accurate.
 Author: WoutR View Messages Posted By WoutR
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:34
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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WoutR (920)

Location:  Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 8, 2011 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, StormChaser writes:
  In Suggestions, StormChaser writes:
  It's a minibuild, but it shouldn't be in the catalog and people will
need a general idea of what likely will and won't be accepted before they
submit builds.

Here's an idea. It shouldn't be too difficult to set up a page like
this one:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogThemes.asp

Anyone can submit minibuilds to the page and members can then vote on them.
Once a minibuild reaches a set number of votes it gets reviewed for addition
to the catalog. That method should eliminate a number of potential problems.

Clicked that link.... Now I am disappointed to see that people can vote for BrickArms
as their favourite LEGO theme...
 Author: leopard37 View Messages Posted By leopard37
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:27
 Subject: Re: Stop counting neutral feedback as negative
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leopard37 (4559)

Location:  Canada, Alberta
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jul 15, 2015 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Leopard37
In Suggestions, Brick.Door writes:
  Since the change was made to put the large "% Praise" at the top of each store
front page neutral and negative feedback are basically the same thing.

This is not obvious to customers leaving feedback - especially new members.

I suggest to exclude neutral transactions from the % Praise calculation - treat
them the same as if no feedback had been left. This seems more accurate than
counting them as negative.

Also I find it strange that the % praise is calculated to 2 decimal places. Does
anyone really think a 99.74 seller is more trustworthy than 99.68? There are
no standards or guidelines for what makes a positive/neutral/negative transaction
-- it is up to the individual opinion. So there is no way this figure is
that accurate.

This also may lead to more accurate feedback being given. I know I have been
satisfied neutrally from a purchase but not given feedback at all because I don't
think it's worth harming their rating.

It may also help educate shoppers on the difference between great and average
service provided by stores.

Tyson.
 Author: StormChaser View Messages Posted By StormChaser
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:24
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 32 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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StormChaser (569)

Location:  USA, Oklahoma
Member Since Contact Type Status
Sep 10, 2002 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Penultimate Harbinger
In Suggestions, StormChaser writes:
  It's a minibuild, but it shouldn't be in the catalog and people will
need a general idea of what likely will and won't be accepted before they
submit builds.

Here's an idea. It shouldn't be too difficult to set up a page like
this one:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogThemes.asp

Anyone can submit minibuilds to the page and members can then vote on them.
Once a minibuild reaches a set number of votes it gets reviewed for addition
to the catalog. That method should eliminate a number of potential problems.
 Author: Brick.Door View Messages Posted By Brick.Door
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:19
 Subject: Stop counting neutral feedback as negative
 Viewed: 200 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
 Vote:[Yes|No]
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Brick.Door (7529)

Location:  USA, New York
Member Since Contact Type Status
Sep 24, 2010 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Brick Door
Since the change was made to put the large "% Praise" at the top of each store
front page neutral and negative feedback are basically the same thing.

This is not obvious to customers leaving feedback - especially new members.

I suggest to exclude neutral transactions from the % Praise calculation - treat
them the same as if no feedback had been left. This seems more accurate than
counting them as negative.

Also I find it strange that the % praise is calculated to 2 decimal places. Does
anyone really think a 99.74 seller is more trustworthy than 99.68? There are
no standards or guidelines for what makes a positive/neutral/negative transaction
-- it is up to the individual opinion. So there is no way this figure is
that accurate.
 Author: StormChaser View Messages Posted By StormChaser
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:11
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 35 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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StormChaser (569)

Location:  USA, Oklahoma
Member Since Contact Type Status
Sep 10, 2002 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Penultimate Harbinger
In Suggestions, axaday writes:
  And I don't think we would have to make a complicated
set of rules about what was and wasn't acceptable either. Just leave it
up to what people want to submit.

Complicated rules? I agree that they aren't necessary.

Some clear and simple guidelines will be necessary, though. For example, the
small table with two cups and a teapot in this set:

 
Set No: 40307  Name: Castle Interior Kit
* 
40307-1 (Inv) Castle Interior Kit
115 Parts, 2018
Sets: Disney: Disney Princess: Supplemental

It's a minibuild, but it shouldn't be in the catalog and people will
need a general idea of what likely will and won't be accepted before they
submit builds.

Even though it will involve quite a bit more work for administrators, I think
certain minibuilds should be included in the catalog. Members have been asking
for them for a long time.
 Author: axaday View Messages Posted By axaday
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 14:01
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 29 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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axaday (7303)

Location:  USA, Oklahoma
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 28, 2005 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Axaday
In Suggestions, Miro78 writes:
  There are some obvious builds like the characters from Cars, brickbuilt figures
like Groot, the giant Antman and such, train cars, but then it it's not so
clear on the smaller builds that are not attached to the main set build. There
are lots of little minibuilds across various themes/subthemes and I am not sure
how they will be easily cataloged in what would require a whole new branch of
the catalog. Would they be classified under their themes and subthemes. How will
they be easily found. If I just want a brickbuilt trashcan, how will one know
what theme and subtheme to find it under. The character ones would be fairly
simple to find by name, but some accessory minibuilds would seem to lurk in the
shadows of the catalog, to be never found or browsed.

If I were the king, I think I would put them on a new tree and not go by themes.
Use categories like "Vehicle - Land", "Vehicle - Space", "Animal", "Furniture".
It would be a whole new way for customers to shop Bricklink and a whole new
area for sellers to specialize.
 Author: axaday View Messages Posted By axaday
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 13:53
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 30 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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axaday (7303)

Location:  USA, Oklahoma
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 28, 2005 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Axaday
I don't see any downside other than the work. Anyone who wants to ignore
it would be free to do so. And I don't think we would have to make a complicated
set of rules about what was and wasn't acceptable either. Just leave it
up to what people want to submit. As it is right now, a lot of set inventories
have alternates (such as a modified plate with wheels attached) but it isn't
required. So if you want to add the inventory for the car on the car ferry set,
then do so. But an inventory would not be incomplete just because someone hadn't
done so.

I sold a whole bunch of Giant Antmen from the Civil War airport set. Having
a visible "correct" place to list it would have been great. But BEYOND that,
I also would have appreciated the ability to subtract the Giant Antman parts
from the set as I was parting it out. I had to take the instructions (in hand
or online) each time and scroll through my inventory deleting them a page at
a time. Needlessly labor intensive, in my opinion.

In Suggestions, Lauren_Luke writes:
  I don’t want to open a can of worms here, but I think this is a valid suggestion.

Can BL create a fourth entry for a set where is states:

‘Set Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’

to become

‘Set Entry | Minibuild Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’ ?

The ‘Minibuild Entry’ would contain the valid minibuilds (new and used) from
a set. Sellers are selling minibuilds anyway under 'Set Entry' as new-incomplete
and used-incomplete with the minibuld definition the description.

Separating out the minibuilds would...
- clean up the 'Set Entry';
- improve average pricing effectiveness;
- create an additional avenue for buyers and sellers
 Author: 1977_mauro View Messages Posted By 1977_mauro
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 13:33
 Subject: Re: Do the price guide not for 6 month, but for..
 Viewed: 51 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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1977_mauro (3398)

Location:  Germany, Baden-Württemberg
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 19, 2009 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Mauro's Revenge
Has this been partially implemented?

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?S=7686-1&ColorID=0

In Suggestions, 1977_mauro writes:
  ...an amount of particular sales.

Many of seller have the problems here for older or rare sets that there are no
sales between last 6 month.
Therefore we should have a price guide for let say last 50 or less sales for
every product...

Cheers
Mauro
 Author: QueenAnne View Messages Posted By QueenAnne
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 13:28
 Subject: Re: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
 Viewed: 68 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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QueenAnne (22)

Location:  USA, Indiana
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jan 30, 2018 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, matejo writes:
  Hi,

The new buyer's level of effort required to tie up any given seller's
inventory for 14 to 21 days still stands a very, very firm almost none.

I get that irresponsible and indifferent buyers present a difficult challenge,
but the NPB process needs to be significantly shortened to make it something
less than a sick joke.

Eight sets and one entire lot are now off the market for 14-days or more. Whoopdeedo.

For any decisive administrator of BrickLink, please take action on behalf of
the responsible BrickLink community.

A good day to any readers, Matthew

Likewise as a buyer I think its ridiculous to not be allowed to cancel an order
for 2 weeks if the vendor wont even communicate whether or not they will even
send it! I paid for my items 2/27/18. Altho I have sent several emails. UT I
HAVE STILL YET TO HEAR FROM 1 of my vendors if they are even going to ship my
merchandise. I have received my merchandise from a vendor who was moving his
warehouse and 1 that was form the Netherlands. It's a tiny order & very little
money. But if they didn't want to mess with such a tiny order, they should
have told me! Bricklink chose the vendors, NOT ME! Now I can't build, because
I need a piece I was expecting to get from them. I submitted a problem response
through this system. It's a common piece but I shouldn't have to order
it again or go to a Lego store.
 Author: alahaka View Messages Posted By alahaka
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 13:15
 Subject: New buyer LOE to tie up inventory for 14 days
 Viewed: 182 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
 Vote:[Yes|No]
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alahaka (645)

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 1, 2006 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Sairai
Hi,

The new buyer's level of effort required to tie up any given seller's
inventory for 14 to 21 days still stands a very, very firm almost none.

I get that irresponsible and indifferent buyers present a difficult challenge,
but the NPB process needs to be significantly shortened to make it something
less than a sick joke.

Eight sets and one entire lot are now off the market for 14-days or more. Whoopdeedo.

For any decisive administrator of BrickLink, please take action on behalf of
the responsible BrickLink community.

A good day to any readers, Matthew
 Author: Miro78 View Messages Posted By Miro78
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 13:02
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 32 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Miro78 (2360)

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 17, 2012 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: The Humble Bricks Corner
In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, TallyToyBricks writes:
  I'm not sure how you would handle selling new minibuilds with stickers and
instructions.

Do you cut the sticker sheets? Do you send the appropriate building pages from
the manual?

What would the buyer expect?

AFAICT, generally, each minibuild has its own instruction booklet.

Sticker sheets are more of a problem :/

I like the idea, but the problem seems to be in the details and how it can be
best handled, as has already been pointed out.

There are some obvious builds like the characters from Cars, brickbuilt figures
like Groot, the giant Antman and such, train cars, but then it it's not so
clear on the smaller builds that are not attached to the main set build. There
are lots of little minibuilds across various themes/subthemes and I am not sure
how they will be easily cataloged in what would require a whole new branch of
the catalog. Would they be classified under their themes and subthemes. How will
they be easily found. If I just want a brickbuilt trashcan, how will one know
what theme and subtheme to find it under. The character ones would be fairly
simple to find by name, but some accessory minibuilds would seem to lurk in the
shadows of the catalog, to be never found or browsed.

Additionally it would take a huge undertaking to re-catalog many of these. The
sticker sheets is one of the biggest issues that I can't figure out the best
way to handle the issue without making the minibuild seem incomplete if omitted,
but if the stickers are applied, then it would classify them as used. Cutting
instructions creates an additional chore for the seller, but mainly the quality
of the cut which could compromise the sticker just to name 1 of several concerns
with that alone. Some stickers have no space between them and cutting between
2 stickers would prove quite impossible without inflicting some damage.

Ultimately, people will probably still list sets as incomplete to gain better
visibility and to dump off the rest of the unwanted minibuilds in 1 sale as opposed
to various minibuilds.

As far as the catalog price averages issue, I think incomplete sets need to be
marked as incomplete and sale of those should not be listed or used for calculations
of averages. Perhaps that is already what is happening, I just wouldn't know.

Whatever Bricklink decides to do, should probably do a trial test with certain
figures and see how it shakes out, before they bite of more than they can chew.
Catalog and Inventory admins will have quite a work cut out for them.

Miro
 Author: WoutR View Messages Posted By WoutR
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 12:37
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 41 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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WoutR (920)

Location:  Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 8, 2011 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, Lauren_Luke writes:
  I don’t want to open a can of worms here, but I think this is a valid suggestion.

Can BL create a fourth entry for a set where is states:

‘Set Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’

to become

‘Set Entry | Minibuild Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’ ?

The ‘Minibuild Entry’ would contain the valid minibuilds (new and used) from
a set. Sellers are selling minibuilds anyway under 'Set Entry' as new-incomplete
and used-incomplete with the minibuld definition the description.

Separating out the minibuilds would...
- clean up the 'Set Entry';
- improve average pricing effectiveness;
- create an additional avenue for buyers and sellers

To me, it sounds like..
1) some people will be happy to buy and sell subsets,
2) a lot more inventory work, and that also means a lot more verification work
for our inv.admin
3) if you want to do this, you need very clear definitions about what are acceptable
minibuilds. Different sellers might have different ideas about that, and it would
be easy to end up with chaos and mayhem.
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 11:30
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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 Topic: Suggestions
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, TallyToyBricks writes:
  I'm not sure how you would handle selling new minibuilds with stickers and
instructions.

Do you cut the sticker sheets? Do you send the appropriate building pages from
the manual?

What would the buyer expect?

AFAICT, generally, each minibuild has its own instruction booklet.

Sticker sheets are more of a problem :/
 Author: TallyToyBricks View Messages Posted By TallyToyBricks
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 11:25
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 36 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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TallyToyBricks (3780)

Location:  USA, Florida
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 16, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Tally Toy
I'm not sure how you would handle selling new minibuilds with stickers and
instructions.

Do you cut the sticker sheets? Do you send the appropriate building pages from
the manual?

What would the buyer expect?
 Author: bacon1986 View Messages Posted By bacon1986
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 09:07
 Subject: Re: Classic Wanted List Unavailable on June 5th
 Viewed: 68 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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bacon1986 (109)

Location:  USA, Pennsylvania
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 9, 2012 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Bacon Bricks
I second this post entirely

In Administrative, yoshi98bc writes:
  Im not sure who you have had testing the new design but there are so many flaws.


Things I cannot seem to do
1.Change quantity of a part
2.Edit color of a part
3.Get error messages if the same item is on the list twice, they should be automatically
combined
4.Cannot edit the have list either.

I switch back to the old wanted list just to edit things
 Author: StormChaser View Messages Posted By StormChaser
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 05:33
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 36 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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StormChaser (569)

Location:  USA, Oklahoma
Member Since Contact Type Status
Sep 10, 2002 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Penultimate Harbinger
In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  How on earth are those cars minifigures? They contain no minifigure parts. Especially
when other assemblies that form characters such as Groot, LOTR Ent, etc are disallowed?

Did you read this message elsewhere in the thread?

https://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=1081410

I believe it addresses both of your questions.
 Author: yorbrick View Messages Posted By yorbrick
 Posted: Mar 16, 2018 05:27
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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 Topic: Suggestions
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yorbrick (1185)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 11, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Yorbricks
In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:
  In Suggestions, Lauren_Luke writes:
  I don’t want to open a can of worms here, but I think this is a valid suggestion.

Can BL create a fourth entry for a set where is states:

‘Set Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’

to become

‘Set Entry | Minibuild Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’ ?

The ‘Minibuild Entry’ would contain the valid minibuilds (new and used) from
a set. Sellers are selling minibuilds anyway under 'Set Entry' as new-incomplete
and used-incomplete with the minibuld definition the description.

Separating out the minibuilds would...
- clean up the 'Set Entry';
- improve average pricing effectiveness;
- create an additional avenue for buyers and sellers

Would you consider these to be "minibuilds"?
 
Minifig No: crs001  Name: Lightning McQueen - Dark Blue
* 
crs001 (Inv) Lightning McQueen - Dark Blue
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 
Minifig No: crs002  Name: Cruz Ramirez - DINOCO
* 
crs002 (Inv) Cruz Ramirez - DINOCO
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 
Minifig No: crs003  Name: Jackson Storm
* 
crs003 (Inv) Jackson Storm
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3

How on earth are those cars minifigures? They contain no minifigure parts. Especially
when other assemblies that form characters such as Groot, LOTR Ent, etc are disallowed?

That said, this type is even worse:

 
Minifig No: dp029  Name: Cogsworth without Stickers
* 
dp029 Cogsworth without Stickers
Minifigures: Disney: Disney Princess: Beauty and the Beast
Marked for Deletion

No minifigure parts, and not even a proper character without the stickers.
 Author: wahiggin View Messages Posted By wahiggin
 Posted: Mar 15, 2018 22:47
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 46 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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wahiggin (2863)

Location:  USA, Alabama
Member Since Contact Type Status Collage
Jun 30, 2004 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
View Collage Pic
Store: We-Like-It Bricks
  
The only disadvantages (for the seller) is the time needed to part-out the set
with the correct parts for the minibuild assembly and the issue with a sheet
of stickers spanning over multiple minibuilds, however, a buyer may even want
someone to apply the stickers for the minibuild.

Sometimes the parts for the minibuild come in separate bags which will help with
parting them out.
 
 Author: Lauren_Luke View Messages Posted By Lauren_Luke
 Posted: Mar 15, 2018 22:38
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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 Topic: Suggestions
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Lauren_Luke (1609)

Location:  Australia, Queensland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 24, 2010 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Brickporium
OK, you have given the example of set 10745-1
 
Set No: 10745  Name: Florida 500 Final Race
* 
10745-1 (Inv) Florida 500 Final Race
114 Parts, 5 Minifigures, 2017
Sets: Juniors: Cars: Cars 3

On this set is says: “
Item Consists Of
114 Parts
5 Minifigs


This should become either: “
Item Consists Of
114 Parts
9 Minibuilds


or (because this experiment has already classified the ‘cars’ characters as minifigs):

Item Consists Of
114 Parts
5 Minifigs
4 Minibuilds


The four minibuilds in these set would be:

Fuel Stop
Podium
Finish Line and Ripple Strips
Finish Booth
(see photos)

I like this idea because there may be buyers who are only interested in certain
minibuilds of a set, or want to expand a set, or add a minibuild from one to
set to another set etc… Some set offer only part of an arena (for example),
as a buyer I would prefer to buy just another (or two) parts of the arena (to
make it complete) that the whole set.

The only disadvantages (for the seller) is the time needed to part-out the set
with the correct parts for the minibuild assembly and the issue with a sheet
of stickers spanning over multiple minibuilds, however, a buyer may even want
someone to apply the stickers for the minibuild.
 






 Author: wahiggin View Messages Posted By wahiggin
 Posted: Mar 15, 2018 22:36
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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 Topic: Suggestions
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wahiggin (2863)

Location:  USA, Alabama
Member Since Contact Type Status Collage
Jun 30, 2004 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
View Collage Pic
Store: We-Like-It Bricks
  
I would like to hear from people who are interested in listing larger assemblies
like this. I would also appreciate hearing from those who think it's not
a good direction for the site to take.

I've been wanting this for YEARS! I proposed it back when we had the Thomas
the Tank sets so we could add the train "figures" as minifigures or as something
similar to how the Bob the Builder characters had been loaded. I was interested
it again with the first round of Cars sets. I didn't understand why the
Bob the Builder sets had minibuilds, but the others couldn't. I thought
it would be nice for the sets that have modular builds to, such as the Pirate
II Fort, where each bag built a different section. It would be nice for train
sets too, so each train car could be listed individually. It would also be great
for the minecraft animals. Large sets would be nice to have mini-builds as well,
so people could list a certain vehicle or building. Mini-build inventories would
be nice too!

Can we build it! Yes we can!

[p=dmuckc01]
[p=21098pb01]
 
Set No: 6242  Name: Soldiers' Fort
* 
6242-1 (Inv) Soldiers' Fort
337 Parts, 6 Minifigures, 2009
Sets: Pirates: Pirates II: Imperial Guards
 
Set No: 5552  Name: James at Knapford Station
* 
5552-1 (Inv) James at Knapford Station
25 Parts, 1 Minifigure, 2005
Sets: DUPLO: DUPLO, Train: Thomas & Friends
 
Set No: 60097  Name: City Square
* 
60097-1 (Inv) City Square
1623 Parts, 14 Minifigures, 2015
Sets: Town: City: Traffic
 
 Author: Admin_Russell View Messages Posted By Admin_Russell
 Posted: Mar 15, 2018 21:58
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 106 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Admin_Russell

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 9, 2017 Contact Member Admin
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
BrickLink Administrator
In Suggestions, Lauren_Luke writes:
  In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

  Would you consider these to be "minibuilds"?
 
Minifig No: crs001  Name: Lightning McQueen - Dark Blue
* 
crs001 (Inv) Lightning McQueen - Dark Blue
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 
Minifig No: crs002  Name: Cruz Ramirez - DINOCO
* 
crs002 (Inv) Cruz Ramirez - DINOCO
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 
Minifig No: crs003  Name: Jackson Storm
* 
crs003 (Inv) Jackson Storm
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3

Yes, and...

https://store.bricklink.com/graznador?itemID=135643140#/shop?o={"invID":"135643140"}

and,

https://store.bricklink.com/mnementh?itemID=23666356#/shop?o={"invID":"23666356"}

and,

https://store.bricklink.com/Jonnycatland87?itemID=138038853#/shop?o={"invID":"138038853"}

and so on.

That is just vehicles, but you seem to get the idea. So is that the first 'Yes'
vote Admin_Russell?

The 18 Juniors Cars "minifigs" are an experiment. You are correct that another
type of item would ultimately need to be created, but for the time being we are
using the minifig type because the different partout values (assembled/broken)
can easily be seen.

I would like to hear from people who are interested in listing larger assemblies
like this. I would also appreciate hearing from those who think it's not
a good direction for the site to take.
 Author: Lauren_Luke View Messages Posted By Lauren_Luke
 Posted: Mar 15, 2018 21:46
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
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 Topic: Suggestions
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Lauren_Luke (1609)

Location:  Australia, Queensland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 24, 2010 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Brickporium
In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

  Would you consider these to be "minibuilds"?
 
Minifig No: crs001  Name: Lightning McQueen - Dark Blue
* 
crs001 (Inv) Lightning McQueen - Dark Blue
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 
Minifig No: crs002  Name: Cruz Ramirez - DINOCO
* 
crs002 (Inv) Cruz Ramirez - DINOCO
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 
Minifig No: crs003  Name: Jackson Storm
* 
crs003 (Inv) Jackson Storm
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3

Yes, and...

https://store.bricklink.com/graznador?itemID=135643140#/shop?o={"invID":"135643140"}

and,

https://store.bricklink.com/mnementh?itemID=23666356#/shop?o={"invID":"23666356"}

and,

https://store.bricklink.com/Jonnycatland87?itemID=138038853#/shop?o={"invID":"138038853"}

and so on.

That is just vehicles, but you seem to get the idea. So is that the first 'Yes'
vote Admin_Russell?
 Author: Admin_Russell View Messages Posted By Admin_Russell
 Posted: Mar 15, 2018 21:17
 Subject: Re: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 102 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Admin_Russell

Location:  USA, California
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 9, 2017 Contact Member Admin
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
BrickLink Administrator
In Suggestions, Lauren_Luke writes:
  I don’t want to open a can of worms here, but I think this is a valid suggestion.

Can BL create a fourth entry for a set where is states:

‘Set Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’

to become

‘Set Entry | Minibuild Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’ ?

The ‘Minibuild Entry’ would contain the valid minibuilds (new and used) from
a set. Sellers are selling minibuilds anyway under 'Set Entry' as new-incomplete
and used-incomplete with the minibuld definition the description.

Separating out the minibuilds would...
- clean up the 'Set Entry';
- improve average pricing effectiveness;
- create an additional avenue for buyers and sellers

Would you consider these to be "minibuilds"?
 
Minifig No: crs001  Name: Lightning McQueen - Dark Blue
* 
crs001 (Inv) Lightning McQueen - Dark Blue
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 
Minifig No: crs002  Name: Cruz Ramirez - DINOCO
* 
crs002 (Inv) Cruz Ramirez - DINOCO
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 
Minifig No: crs003  Name: Jackson Storm
* 
crs003 (Inv) Jackson Storm
Minifigures: Cars: Cars 3
 Author: Lauren_Luke View Messages Posted By Lauren_Luke
 Posted: Mar 15, 2018 19:28
 Subject: Minibuilds
 Viewed: 245 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
 Vote:[Yes|No]
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Lauren_Luke (1609)

Location:  Australia, Queensland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 24, 2010 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Brickporium
I don’t want to open a can of worms here, but I think this is a valid suggestion.

Can BL create a fourth entry for a set where is states:

‘Set Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’

to become

‘Set Entry | Minibuild Entry | Instructions Entry | Original Box Entry’ ?

The ‘Minibuild Entry’ would contain the valid minibuilds (new and used) from
a set. Sellers are selling minibuilds anyway under 'Set Entry' as new-incomplete
and used-incomplete with the minibuld definition the description.

Separating out the minibuilds would...
- clean up the 'Set Entry';
- improve average pricing effectiveness;
- create an additional avenue for buyers and sellers
 Author: brickphils View Messages Posted By brickphils
 Posted: Mar 14, 2018 15:45
 Subject: Item code link on cart list
 Viewed: 49 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
 Vote:[Yes|No]
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brickphils (1282)

Location:  Philippines, Metro Manila
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 26, 2015 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: brickphils
Pls add item code link on cart list.

This feature was available in previous versions.

This helps in reviewing cart items.
 Author: Brickwilbo View Messages Posted By Brickwilbo
 Posted: Mar 14, 2018 10:38
 Subject: Re: Suggestion - link to report post on message
 Viewed: 26 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Brickwilbo (1534)

Location:  Netherlands, Gelderland
Member Since Contact Type Status Collage
Oct 24, 2007 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
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Store Closed Store: Brickwilbo Betuwe Bricks
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, Cob writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Cob writes:
  Please put a quick link to report a post in each message.

Thanks
Cob

Yes, not having to find the message ID and the correct problem page would make
it easier to report messages. That would help.

An icon could be added next to Cancel and Reply, which could take you directly
to the reporting page with the message number already filled in.

After getting nearly 200 spam forum posts in the last few days, it seems that
this suggestion would be a good addition to the forum page.

Cob

Report the Member as spanner under Report Member.
 Author: Cob View Messages Posted By Cob
 Posted: Mar 14, 2018 09:03
 Subject: Re: Suggestion - link to report post on message
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Cob (3567)

Location:  USA, Missouri
Member Since Contact Type Status
Nov 18, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Cob's Brick House
In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Cob writes:
  Please put a quick link to report a post in each message.

Thanks
Cob

Yes, not having to find the message ID and the correct problem page would make
it easier to report messages. That would help.

An icon could be added next to Cancel and Reply, which could take you directly
to the reporting page with the message number already filled in.

After getting nearly 200 spam forum posts in the last few days, it seems that
this suggestion would be a good addition to the forum page.

Cob
 Author: BricksShop View Messages Posted By BricksShop
 Posted: Mar 13, 2018 17:24
 Subject: Re: My inventory with overview of missing data
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 Topic: Suggestions
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BricksShop (3088)

Location:  Germany, Baden-Württemberg
Member Since Contact Type Status
Oct 10, 2013 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Bricks-Shop
Waltraud,
you're right - my sentence was not 100% clear written. Bricklink is for sure
not like other online shops - It's just Bricklink-Online-Shopping with special
features. But the checkout with instant payment is more like regular online shops
- that's what I wanted to say.

But maybe there are some Admins and hopefully some Management left who are still
interested to improve Bricklink for the future. If not I guess the people (sellers
and buyer) will leave Bricklink to some fast growing alternatives (also not perfect,
but in some cases better).


Regards,
Oliver.
 Author: WFMTF View Messages Posted By WFMTF
 Posted: Mar 13, 2018 16:11
 Subject: Re: My inventory with overview of missing data
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WFMTF (4191)

Location:  Austria, Burgenland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 20, 2013 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Atelier Waltraud
In Suggestions, OliS writes:
  Hello,

since we have Instant Checkout the life is much more easier and for the buyer
Bricklink is also like all other online shopping sites.

Anyhow sometimes the weight and/or dimensions of the parts are missing.

My idea and suggestion is to implement an overview in the inventory of the users
which lists all the parts which have missing data (weight, dimensions). This
will give the users the possibility to update the data to complete the database
of Bricklink.


What do you think about this idea?

Regards,
Oliver.

IS BRICKLINK like all other shopping sites?..... NO!

BrickLink is nowadays to decide everything without the users - why should they
still work on it?
Any answer would be very much appreciated.
Waltraud
 Author: Give.Me.A.Brick View Messages Posted By Give.Me.A.Brick
 Posted: Mar 12, 2018 14:49
 Subject: Re: Save for later option.
 Viewed: 22 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Give.Me.A.Brick (10612)

Location:  Portugal
Member Since Contact Type Status Collage
Nov 25, 2002 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
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Store: Give Me A Brick ϟ
In Suggestions, PaulOfBricks writes:
  I have mentioned it before but it seems it would work even better now with the
New chckout layout

I know we are not eBay or amazon, but the checkout now is simular and it would
be good for items you are not ready to buy in the current order but would like
to buy in the future. (Obviously if the seller still has it)

When you remove an item from your basket currently, you would have to find the
shop/item again, search again the store to find the item and add it again to
your basket.

Id rather it just be saved

Yes!
 Author: PaulOfBricks View Messages Posted By PaulOfBricks
 Posted: Mar 11, 2018 07:16
 Subject: Save for later option.
 Viewed: 66 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
 Vote:[Yes|No]
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PaulOfBricks (3950)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jul 31, 2013 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: PaulOfBricks UK ϟ
I have mentioned it before but it seems it would work even better now with the
New chckout layout

I know we are not eBay or amazon, but the checkout now is simular and it would
be good for items you are not ready to buy in the current order but would like
to buy in the future. (Obviously if the seller still has it)

When you remove an item from your basket currently, you would have to find the
shop/item again, search again the store to find the item and add it again to
your basket.

Id rather it just be saved
 




 Author: calsbricks View Messages Posted By calsbricks
 Posted: Mar 11, 2018 05:49
 Subject: Must have improvements
 Viewed: 170 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
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calsbricks (8517)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 12, 2008 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: CalsBricks
As there is almost constant changes going on in the catalogue stores need more
features to ensure they are up to date. For example - we received orders over
the weekends for many of our
 
Part No: 3794  Name: Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud, Jumper (Undetermined Type)
* 
3794 Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud, Jumper (Undetermined Type)
Parts: Plate, Modified
pieces which of course have been changed
to
 
Part No: 3794a  Name: Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud without Groove (Jumper)
* 
3794a Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud without Groove (Jumper)
Parts: Plate, Modified
. I had to go to my inventory page for the part and change each and
everyone of these from 3794 to 3794a, That 'dropped 4 or 5 small images -
(we will re-do those photos and submit) but they had photos before we changed
them from 3794 to 3794a.Hmmmm

It is a very simple select and update query in SQL - surely one of the developers
can put together a screen to allow us to update multiple items in our inventory
at once. We are in the dark ages here really.

In addition I noticed yet another quirk which is simple enough to sort out but
untouched

We hold bulk amounts for many standard items (in the thousands of each of them)
and decided to set up a tiered pricing schedule for each of those taking 1p off
at each quantity break. Fine - it was still a manual exercise for over 100 items
but we went through that - only to find that we either had to repeat this each
time we added to that part or we would lose that tiered pricing. The options
on consolidate are far too limited. We need at least another method of new price
and retain old tiered pricing.

Neither of these changes require huge amounts of time or development effort but
both have needed doing for some time.

It may be a question of priorities or design or ????? but surely such simple
mods can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

It does get exasperating sometimes. And Brickstock will not allow you to make
these changes offline and upload them either. We have tried that and failed.
We have also advised Patrick but he has gone missing at present.

Come on Bricklink - the stores need their tools (just like buyers, if not more
so)
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 8, 2018 19:56
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 73 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:
  In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
  In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

In the US it is not so clear cut whether an individual selling Lego online is
a business or not. From the point of view of the Internal Revenue Service if
you are engaged in any activity for the purpose of making a profit, you are in
business

Sounds pretty clear cut to me.

  ...and should be reporting that revenue and paying taxes on it. There are
exceptions for "hobbyists," but even there the line is not so clear.

https://www.irs.gov/faqs/small-business-self-employed-other-business/income-expenses/income-expenses

To my mind

Surely it's the law that counts, not personal opinion?

The law says what a business is - not what "professional" means. The OP appears
to be suggesting that if you are filing taxes on your revenue (for example) that
makes you a "professional."

I take issue with that use of the word in this case, because, as I say, anyone
can get a tax permit. It doesn't make you professional in your dealings.

It would not be any benefit to the buyers here to see a shop labeled "professional"
because of its tax status. What benefits them is seeing if the shop actually
conducts itself like a professional business, and that is what the feedback system
is for.

Given the context - "...and private" - the OP is clearly using the word to refer
to business sellers. You can be a private seller and professional in the way
you do thing, so that's obviously not what was meant.

  
  
  , the difference between professional and amateur is the manner of
doing business, not the size or tax settings. Anyone can get a tax permit, but
it doesn't mean they're going to run a professional business. Likewise,
a person who is only plowing his revenue back into buying more Lego and meets
the definition of a hobbyist can offer very professional service.

So I think any distinction would be meaningless. Let the feedback rating serve
this purpose.
 Author: 62Bricks View Messages Posted By 62Bricks
 Posted: Mar 8, 2018 18:48
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 58 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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62Bricks (1455)

Location:  USA, Missouri
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jan 27, 2002 Member Does Not Allow Contact Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: 62 Bricks
In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
  In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

In the US it is not so clear cut whether an individual selling Lego online is
a business or not. From the point of view of the Internal Revenue Service if
you are engaged in any activity for the purpose of making a profit, you are in
business

Sounds pretty clear cut to me.

  ...and should be reporting that revenue and paying taxes on it. There are
exceptions for "hobbyists," but even there the line is not so clear.

https://www.irs.gov/faqs/small-business-self-employed-other-business/income-expenses/income-expenses

To my mind

Surely it's the law that counts, not personal opinion?

The law says what a business is - not what "professional" means. The OP appears
to be suggesting that if you are filing taxes on your revenue (for example) that
makes you a "professional."

I take issue with that use of the word in this case, because, as I say, anyone
can get a tax permit. It doesn't make you professional in your dealings.

It would not be any benefit to the buyers here to see a shop labeled "professional"
because of its tax status. What benefits them is seeing if the shop actually
conducts itself like a professional business, and that is what the feedback system
is for.

  
  , the difference between professional and amateur is the manner of
doing business, not the size or tax settings. Anyone can get a tax permit, but
it doesn't mean they're going to run a professional business. Likewise,
a person who is only plowing his revenue back into buying more Lego and meets
the definition of a hobbyist can offer very professional service.

So I think any distinction would be meaningless. Let the feedback rating serve
this purpose.
 Author: yorbrick View Messages Posted By yorbrick
 Posted: Mar 8, 2018 06:45
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 72 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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yorbrick (1185)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 11, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Yorbricks
  I really think it could save trouble. There are recurring topics that just boil
down to this difference between private and professional. A professional seller
is responsible for the arrival of your order and should accept returns, with
a private seller it all depends on what you agree on. Knowing this from the start
saves tedious discussions.

I think the problem is that it might unfairly hit private sellers. If a seller
is private (selling off a collection, for example), that doesn't mean that
they won't refund a buyer if an item goes missing. Private sellers can be
some of the best sellers on here, honestly pointing out the minutest of condition
problems with a sealed box for example. However, if the view is that private
= no consumer rights, then the seller will be hit with lower sales as buyers
will avoid them, even if they put in their terms that they refund for lost parcels,
as those terms won't even get read.
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 20:24
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 38 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  […]
  If you want to stick with LEGO (whereas MarieA was more general), what about
a motor that fails after a few weeks?
The seller sold it as new. The warranty should be 2 years.

Isn't that warranty through Lego and not the seller?

Legally, it’s through the seller.
But usually, sellers tend to redirect you to the manufacturer. And some manufacturers
(as TLG) prefer handling it themselves.
But what if the motor is an old model not produced for a long time? What do
you think TLG will do? They will tell you to go back to the seller.
 Author: Teup View Messages Posted By Teup
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 19:32
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 52 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Teup (6606)

Location:  Netherlands, Utrecht
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 6, 2004 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: BLOKJESKONING
In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

Why does the way that this site works strike you as odd? You realize that this
concept is not founded by Bricklink but almost any site where multiple people
can come to one place and sell their stuff. Ebay immediately comes to my mind
but others as well. I belong to other sites where I sell stuff and some people
are hobbyists that use their excess product to fund their hobby and some are
their to pay the bills.

I guess you're right, I think that's less common here. When I go to this
Dutch online market site, I know with 100% certainty it's going to be private
individual deals and it will all be a very amateuristic experience, but it makes
it exciting as you never know what you're going to get exactly

  I feel like anyone that actually visits these shops and spends more than a minute
can easily tell a "professional" shop from a small time hobbyist. If someone
can't then they only really have themselves to blame for not spending the
time educating themselves.

Well, yes, you're right it's usually not difficult to spot. Especially
when you can know by looking at their VAT setting in most cases. But still 2
points I want to make:

1. It saves time if it was an actual official label, especially if it can be
filtered on in search results, so you won't need to work through store terms
to figure it out,

2. With some frequency I see topics in the forum where the OP is "omg look at
what my seller does now" and people respond "omg omg sellers should this, sellers
should that, ..." While part of the comments will be applicable regardless of
seller type, some of these comments just make me sigh as they are about businesses
while the case could be just about some random guy selling off his childhood
Lego. Surely this guy isn't going to dropship you a missing part or something
like that (not that that is a professional obligation, but just an example of
how private sellers are really a different planet). So while I would also educate
myself first, apparently in some cases it could be helpful to have a bit more
awareness.

I think it's annoying for all parties if this distinction is obscure. Buyers
don't know what they're in for, professional sellers don't get proper
benefit from the burden of honouring consumer rights, and private sellers get
slapped with lawbooks when all they wanted was just to trade some Lego pieces
from the attic..
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 19:13
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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 Topic: Suggestions
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, enig writes:
  In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
  In Suggestions, enig writes:
  It is more than just black and white, hobby vs private vs business.

Take my store for example. I am operating under a 'private business license'.
As in - I am using my real name for absolutely everything - there is no business
name. All the transactions are going through my 'personal' accounts.
But yes, I am using 'business' PayPal account.

Yes, this is called being self-employed in some countries, acting as an independent
in some others, etc. It's a common occurrence used by some professionals
too (some doctors remain independents despite the inherent fiscal risks). In
terms of most consumer law, and many other areas of law (such as health and safety,
employers laws, etc.) such people are still treated as a business.

  I do have an employee, however I am also operating below the threshold where
I am obliged to register as a VAT payer. So as far as VAT matters are concerned
in EU business to business transactions - I can not deduct VAT, and all the goods
and services that I am buying are also VAT inclusive, where applicable.

One more interesting point - in Lithuania there is a law that allows two very
specific exceptions regarding the return of (purchased) goods. Toys and Child
Clothing are *not returnable*. Even if still brand new in sealed packaging, and
you have done nothing but walked out and walked back into the store a minute
later.

As an expert in EU consumer law, I frankly don't believe this. Used clothing,
fair enough, but brand new toys in their original packaging? Doubtful.

Phew. Finding the actual text proved to be a bit more difficult than I anticipated
but here it is
https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/712337a0164711e4afafe56485a7e49a

The green bulb and text 'Galioja' means that this piece of law is currently
in effect.

What you want to look at are the exceptions listed under 17.1 - they define the
goods that the seller is not obliged to return or to exchange. Buyer may only
do so if the seller agrees to. The most important one for us (9503) is at 17.22


Also just to add - don't blame you at all for doubting this. The list is
quite large. And, lucky me, google translate does.. a good enough job. If you
want a better translation of some lines - let me know.

Replacement and return of good quality goods


14. Proper quality goods are changed and returned in the cases and under the
conditions specified in Article 6.362 of the Civil Code.

15. Plants, animals and food of good quality are not altered or returned.

16. Goods used in specialized (only for use) stores, markets and municipal places
designated by the municipality administration or by distance contracts, as well
as weighing and measuring goods that were specially prepared, cut, cut, and so
on, may only be exchanged or returned with the consent of the seller.

17. The consumer's request to replace the purchased good quality goods with
similar goods or to repay the money paid for the reasons set out in Article 6.362
of the Civil Code can only be satisfied when the seller agrees to purchase the
following goods:

17.1. tobacco and tobacco products (codes according to the European Community
Combined Nomenclature, approved by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23
July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs
Tariff (OJ 2004 Special Edition, Chapter 2 Volume 2, p. 382), as last amended
by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1001/2013 of 4 October 2013 (OJ
2013 L 290, p. 1) (hereinafter referred to as the Combined Nomenclature code)
- 2401-2402);

17.2. perfumery, cosmetic and toilet preparations (codes in the Combined Nomenclature
- 3303-3307);

17.3 photographic and cinematographic goods (codes according to the Combined
Nomenclature - 3701-3707);

17.4 printed books, reproductions and other products of the graphic arts industry
(codes according to the Combined Nomenclature - 4901-4911);

17.5 fabrics (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature: 5007, 5111-5113,
5208-5212, 5309, 5310, 5311, 5407-5408, 5512-5516);

17.6 carpet floor coverings, excluding carpets and rugs (codes in the Combined
Nomenclature - 5701-5705.00);

17.7. knitted men's, boys', ladies' or girls' underwear (codes
according to the Combined Nomenclature 6107-6109);

17.8 baby clothing (codes in the Combined Nomenclature - 6111, 6209),

17.9 pantyhose, socks, half-socks and the like (code according to the Combined
Nomenclature - 6115);

17.10 Men's, boys ', women's or girls' underpants, night shirts,
pajamas and similar articles (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature 6207-6208);

17.11. bras, waists, corsets and similar articles (code according to the Combined
Nomenclature 6212);

17.12 gems, precious stones, precious metals and articles thereof, other than
artificial jewelery (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature: 7101-7116,
7118);

17.13 machinery and mechanical appliances (codes in the Combined Nomenclature
8401-8487);

17.14. electric machines and apparatus, sound recording and reproducing apparatus
and television image and sound recorders and reproducers (codes according to
the Combined Nomenclature 8501-8548);

17.15. ground vehicles (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature 8701-8716);

17.16. boats, boats and craft (codes in the Combined Nomenclature - 8901-8908);

17.17. optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, medical or
surgical instruments and apparatus (codes in the Combined Nomenclature - 9001-9033);

17.18. watches (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature - 9101-9114);

17.19 musical instruments (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature - 9201-9209);

17.20 weapons and ammunition (codes in the Combined Nomenclature - 9301-9307);

17.21. furniture, bedding, candlesticks (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature
- 9401-9406);

17.22. toys, games, other than sports and fishing tackle (codes in the Combined
Nomenclature - 9503-9505, 9508);

17.23. works of art, collectors' items and antiques (codes according to the
Combined Nomenclature - 9701-9706).



  
  So would I get classified as a business, or as a private seller? Am I a professional
seller? This is the single source of income for me and my employee, so I guess
it would be a 'yes'. Am I on par with some of the super-sellers here?
No.

As far as customer service between private and hobby sellers goes.. most hobby
sellers will actually provide a much better customer service than some of the
businesses here at BL.

I completely agree with this. 'Hobbyist' sellers - whether recognised
in law or not - would be expected to provide greater attention to detail for
one thing, and probably a bigger sense of pride in dealing with orders the way
they would want their own purchases to be dealt with.

  And I can not even leave an appropriate feedback when I get completely screwed
over by a 'professional' seller. Because I will often get stoplisted,
and that would hurt my business in the long run. There are few stores that would
have a fair number of very well deserved negatives from me, but I am still finding
myself having to buy from them from time to time.

It's probably Google Translate that's not dealing with the nuance correctly,
but point 17 doesn't really make any sense given the context you're providing.
If it is as you say, which I'm not doubting, then I don't see how that
can possibly be compatible with EU directives covering distance selling. Perhaps
it's saying a retailer is under no obligation to allow returns of toys bought
in-store, which would be fine.

It's like that near-mythical Italian law that prohibits sending toys through
the post, which does exist for those who still doubt, it is legal only insofar
as it doesn't impede with Italy's obligations under EU laws governing
the single market, and EU trade agreements with third-party nations that Italy
is bound by.
 Author: Addict2Brick View Messages Posted By Addict2Brick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 19:01
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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Addict2Brick (626)

Location:  USA, Florida
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 30, 2017 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: I'm addicted to plastic
In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  […]
  
  
  If an obvious business declares themselves a personal seller, this would set
alarm bells ringing. If they're not declaring their trade, what chance they'll
allow you your legal consumer rights if something goes wrong?

That's what PayPal is for.

What if what you bought became faulty and the seller didn't want to know?
PayPal wouldn't necessarily refund in such a case, yet consumer law (in the
EU at least) would hold the retailer responsible for putting it right. PayPal
makes invoking some rights easier, but not all.

If the Lego becomes faulty? I'm unsure exactly how you mean.

If you want to stick with LEGO (whereas MarieA was more general), what about
a motor that fails after a few weeks?
The seller sold it as new. The warranty should be 2 years.

Isn't that warranty through Lego and not the seller?
 Author: Teup View Messages Posted By Teup
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 18:32
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 57 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Teup (6606)

Location:  Netherlands, Utrecht
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 6, 2004 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: BLOKJESKONING
Thanks for the input, a bit much to reply to it all and I would become repetitive
if I did but just to clear up some things,

This suggestion is not intended to uncover illegal practises. That too is an
important issue but that is unrelated to my current suggestion. I know, a seller
who would be illegally running a business will not want to label themself as
a professional seller. And actually that is a good thing - they should not, because
they are not, even though they should be. It's just a piece of information
for the buyer to know whether consumer rights apply or not.

And conversely, even if a professional seller would go and label their shop as
private, firstly on inspection the authorities wouldn't like that, but most
of all, let such a seller just go ahead and hide their business. If they do not
want to admit they run a business, then they probably would not have given your
rights anyway, so actually it's good to know they're letting you know
they are not a professional business.


I'm not a buyer on Bricklink anymore but I would certainly want to have this
info. I buy both from stores and from people occasionally but I always do so
consciously and with a specific mindset about it. I used to have the Bricklink
VAT setting switched off (while I did pay VAT) and got two or three inquiries
of buyers wanting to know whether I was a business or not (mainly regarding VAT).
Good thing they asked, but I think it should always be visible.

As for the gray area issue, I don't know exactly about other countries, but
I imagine that in most places, it is actually fairly clear-cut. The fact that
in practise there's some gray area in terms of store size isn't relevant
for the legal side of things. You are either known to your national authorities
to sell Lego or you are not. You have a business number or you do not. Consumer
rights apply or they do not apply. I mean, if there's a consumer rights program
on TV where they talk about your rights when dealing with companies, this story
either applies to your Bricklink store or it does not. The case enig pointed
out is probably the most compelling argument, but still I don't think it
would defeat the feature if we'd just leave that up to the seller's own
discretion then, to let buyers know if for the purposes of the transaction they
will or will not honour the rights and regulations that apply to businesses.
Whether the label matches actual reality isn't even crucially important,
as long as the seller will act in a way that corresponds to what can be expected
from that label, so that buyers will know what they're in for.

I really think it could save trouble. There are recurring topics that just boil
down to this difference between private and professional. A professional seller
is responsible for the arrival of your order and should accept returns, with
a private seller it all depends on what you agree on. Knowing this from the start
saves tedious discussions.

In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?
 Author: enig View Messages Posted By enig
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 18:03
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 35 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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enig (6343)

Location:  Lithuania, Panevėžys
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 3, 2012 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: enigma bricks - CHEAP S&H!
In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  
  And I can not even leave an appropriate feedback when I get completely screwed
over by a 'professional' seller. Because I will often get stoplisted,
and that would hurt my business in the long run. There are few stores that would
have a fair number of very well deserved negatives from me, but I am still finding
myself having to buy from them from time to time.

That doesn't have anything to do with them being business vs private though,
is it?

Except that "in the real world" such (professional) sellers with such horrible
practices would be getting much less business than in BrickLink world.

  
And if you are completely screwed over by them, not just a little screwed over
but completely, why buy from them again?

Completely screwed over as in

* working on tight deadlines (for my customers) and receiving parts that are
nowhere close "NEW". Not talking about an odd little nick or a random scratch.
I am no better. But situations where whole lots must be re-ordered from elsewhere
again, because the were either stored improperly, maybe even mechanical sorting
was used or gods know what.. Overall also resulting in a delay of another week
or two.

* constantly shipping incomplete orders and only notifying after the fact. More
expenses ordering from elsewhere again, not even to mention that the missing
parts perhaps were the key in placing that specific order. List of parts purchases
from OTHER 20-30 sellers would also have likely been different, if I would not
have placed the order in question.

* Some rare and expensive parts - straight to the bin.

Why shop again? Because by doing all of the above the seller is offering prices
that are unbeatable. With time you just learn to work around the flaws of a particular
seller, and try to minimize the potential damage if things go wrong

Bonus:

me (there was a reason for asking)
  Payment has been made. Please pack nicely - thank you so much!

them

  
  hello thanks we shiped maximum fast.
 Author: enig View Messages Posted By enig
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 17:31
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 51 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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enig (6343)

Location:  Lithuania, Panevėžys
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 3, 2012 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: enigma bricks - CHEAP S&H!
In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
  In Suggestions, enig writes:
  It is more than just black and white, hobby vs private vs business.

Take my store for example. I am operating under a 'private business license'.
As in - I am using my real name for absolutely everything - there is no business
name. All the transactions are going through my 'personal' accounts.
But yes, I am using 'business' PayPal account.

Yes, this is called being self-employed in some countries, acting as an independent
in some others, etc. It's a common occurrence used by some professionals
too (some doctors remain independents despite the inherent fiscal risks). In
terms of most consumer law, and many other areas of law (such as health and safety,
employers laws, etc.) such people are still treated as a business.

  I do have an employee, however I am also operating below the threshold where
I am obliged to register as a VAT payer. So as far as VAT matters are concerned
in EU business to business transactions - I can not deduct VAT, and all the goods
and services that I am buying are also VAT inclusive, where applicable.

One more interesting point - in Lithuania there is a law that allows two very
specific exceptions regarding the return of (purchased) goods. Toys and Child
Clothing are *not returnable*. Even if still brand new in sealed packaging, and
you have done nothing but walked out and walked back into the store a minute
later.

As an expert in EU consumer law, I frankly don't believe this. Used clothing,
fair enough, but brand new toys in their original packaging? Doubtful.

Phew. Finding the actual text proved to be a bit more difficult than I anticipated
but here it is
https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/712337a0164711e4afafe56485a7e49a

The green bulb and text 'Galioja' means that this piece of law is currently
in effect.

What you want to look at are the exceptions listed under 17.1 - they define the
goods that the seller is not obliged to return or to exchange. Buyer may only
do so if the seller agrees to. The most important one for us (9503) is at 17.22


Also just to add - don't blame you at all for doubting this. The list is
quite large. And, lucky me, google translate does.. a good enough job. If you
want a better translation of some lines - let me know.

Replacement and return of good quality goods


14. Proper quality goods are changed and returned in the cases and under the
conditions specified in Article 6.362 of the Civil Code.

15. Plants, animals and food of good quality are not altered or returned.

16. Goods used in specialized (only for use) stores, markets and municipal places
designated by the municipality administration or by distance contracts, as well
as weighing and measuring goods that were specially prepared, cut, cut, and so
on, may only be exchanged or returned with the consent of the seller.

17. The consumer's request to replace the purchased good quality goods with
similar goods or to repay the money paid for the reasons set out in Article 6.362
of the Civil Code can only be satisfied when the seller agrees to purchase the
following goods:

17.1. tobacco and tobacco products (codes according to the European Community
Combined Nomenclature, approved by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23
July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs
Tariff (OJ 2004 Special Edition, Chapter 2 Volume 2, p. 382), as last amended
by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1001/2013 of 4 October 2013 (OJ
2013 L 290, p. 1) (hereinafter referred to as the Combined Nomenclature code)
- 2401-2402);

17.2. perfumery, cosmetic and toilet preparations (codes in the Combined Nomenclature
- 3303-3307);

17.3 photographic and cinematographic goods (codes according to the Combined
Nomenclature - 3701-3707);

17.4 printed books, reproductions and other products of the graphic arts industry
(codes according to the Combined Nomenclature - 4901-4911);

17.5 fabrics (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature: 5007, 5111-5113,
5208-5212, 5309, 5310, 5311, 5407-5408, 5512-5516);

17.6 carpet floor coverings, excluding carpets and rugs (codes in the Combined
Nomenclature - 5701-5705.00);

17.7. knitted men's, boys', ladies' or girls' underwear (codes
according to the Combined Nomenclature 6107-6109);

17.8 baby clothing (codes in the Combined Nomenclature - 6111, 6209),

17.9 pantyhose, socks, half-socks and the like (code according to the Combined
Nomenclature - 6115);

17.10 Men's, boys ', women's or girls' underpants, night shirts,
pajamas and similar articles (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature 6207-6208);

17.11. bras, waists, corsets and similar articles (code according to the Combined
Nomenclature 6212);

17.12 gems, precious stones, precious metals and articles thereof, other than
artificial jewelery (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature: 7101-7116,
7118);

17.13 machinery and mechanical appliances (codes in the Combined Nomenclature
8401-8487);

17.14. electric machines and apparatus, sound recording and reproducing apparatus
and television image and sound recorders and reproducers (codes according to
the Combined Nomenclature 8501-8548);

17.15. ground vehicles (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature 8701-8716);

17.16. boats, boats and craft (codes in the Combined Nomenclature - 8901-8908);

17.17. optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, medical or
surgical instruments and apparatus (codes in the Combined Nomenclature - 9001-9033);

17.18. watches (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature - 9101-9114);

17.19 musical instruments (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature - 9201-9209);

17.20 weapons and ammunition (codes in the Combined Nomenclature - 9301-9307);

17.21. furniture, bedding, candlesticks (codes according to the Combined Nomenclature
- 9401-9406);

17.22. toys, games, other than sports and fishing tackle (codes in the Combined
Nomenclature - 9503-9505, 9508);

17.23. works of art, collectors' items and antiques (codes according to the
Combined Nomenclature - 9701-9706).



  
  So would I get classified as a business, or as a private seller? Am I a professional
seller? This is the single source of income for me and my employee, so I guess
it would be a 'yes'. Am I on par with some of the super-sellers here?
No.

As far as customer service between private and hobby sellers goes.. most hobby
sellers will actually provide a much better customer service than some of the
businesses here at BL.

I completely agree with this. 'Hobbyist' sellers - whether recognised
in law or not - would be expected to provide greater attention to detail for
one thing, and probably a bigger sense of pride in dealing with orders the way
they would want their own purchases to be dealt with.

  And I can not even leave an appropriate feedback when I get completely screwed
over by a 'professional' seller. Because I will often get stoplisted,
and that would hurt my business in the long run. There are few stores that would
have a fair number of very well deserved negatives from me, but I am still finding
myself having to buy from them from time to time.
 Author: jethroo View Messages Posted By jethroo
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 16:15
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 46 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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jethroo (1624)

Location:  Germany, Brandenburg
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 29, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: sum-of-its-parts
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, jethroo writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

there is already this lovely brick next to the username

That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.

Is "legal form of the transaction" relevant if the seller selected the finest
used bricks, having them well packaged and shipped to the customer?

In Germany legaly wise its actually no matter of size as well, if you have the
intention to gain money by selling goods (on long term) you have a business,
period.

I would rather condsider me hobby seller as well (although legaly registered
and paying my taxes). I had to learn quite few a things and would consider my
service way better than 500+ ratings and 5 years ago.

The point was that the ratings can give you an insight of how much the other
guy is into the lego selling/buying thing as well. And even if it is just a hundred
of buying ratings, still the idea of how a good order has to look like is more
established than it might be with 0-20 rating (I said might, so there are definitly
sellers doing a great job within this range)

Best

Carsten
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 15:38
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 39 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
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In Suggestions, StarBrick writes:
  
  I know of an ex-car dealer who was bored with his job and quit but continued
to buy and sell used cars as an individual for a couple of years (then he was
re-hired as a “seller extraordinary” because he was that good). He knew the
rules pretty well and limited himself to less than (I think it’s) ten cars a
year. Buy a used car, keep it a few weeks, sell the car. He managed to make
a hefty profit. All legal, and not as a pro.


Is that a business? Or someone who loves to have another car every few weeks
and makes money along the way?
Has he become a business by doing so?

No. It was someone who was a car salesman, who wanted to change job because
he was bored, but who continued to buy and sell after quitting because it’s what
he is. Yes, he loves to have a different car every few weeks, but he also loves
buying and selling and he made good money along the way.
No, that way of life didn’t become a business. His former employer hired him
back, with a new position, part time so that he could do other things too, because
he was their best salesman and he accepted because, eventually, he realised it
was what he was.
As a car salesman, you can’t buy and sell so many cars as a person.


  The main issue here is how to differentiate between the seller, selling of his
or hers overstock with the intention to get rid of it and the seller purchasing
and reselling parts/sets etc with the intention to generate profit with it

Every text and answer (from the fiscal administration’s lowest rank to their
minister) I know about say it’s a case by case decision.

They guy I talked about did that only a couple of years, so he didn’t run afoul
of the fiscal administration. I’m sure he would have ended in trouble if he
had continued a bit longer: cars are exceptions to a lot of thresholds and taxes,
so there was no problems about the income, but the number of “cartes grises”
(vehicle registrations) is limited for an individual and his intent and status
as non-business might have been questionned if the vehicle registration services
had decided to talk to the fiscal administration.
 Author: StarBrick View Messages Posted By StarBrick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 15:03
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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StarBrick (7074)

Location:  Netherlands, Gelderland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Oct 18, 2008 Contact Member Seller
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Store: StarBrick's BrickShop
  I know of an ex-car dealer who was bored with his job and quit but continued
to buy and sell used cars as an individual for a couple of years (then he was
re-hired as a “seller extraordinary” because he was that good). He knew the
rules pretty well and limited himself to less than (I think it’s) ten cars a
year. Buy a used car, keep it a few weeks, sell the car. He managed to make
a hefty profit. All legal, and not as a pro.


Is that a business? Or someone who loves to have another car every few weeks
and makes money along the way?
Has he become a business by doing so?

The main issue here is how to differentiate between the seller, selling of his
or hers overstock with the intention to get rid of it and the seller purchasing
and reselling parts/sets etc with the intention to generate profit with it
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 13:21
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
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Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
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In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  […]
  
  
  If an obvious business declares themselves a personal seller, this would set
alarm bells ringing. If they're not declaring their trade, what chance they'll
allow you your legal consumer rights if something goes wrong?

That's what PayPal is for.

What if what you bought became faulty and the seller didn't want to know?
PayPal wouldn't necessarily refund in such a case, yet consumer law (in the
EU at least) would hold the retailer responsible for putting it right. PayPal
makes invoking some rights easier, but not all.

If the Lego becomes faulty? I'm unsure exactly how you mean.

If you want to stick with LEGO (whereas MarieA was more general), what about
a motor that fails after a few weeks?
The seller sold it as new. The warranty should be 2 years.
 Author: Leftoverbricks View Messages Posted By Leftoverbricks
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 13:18
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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 Topic: Suggestions
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Leftoverbricks (2225)

Location:  Netherlands, Overijssel
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 11, 2012 Contact Member Seller
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Store: Leftoverbricks
In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  […]
That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.

Nonsense. A “hobbyist” with several sales a week isn’t a hobbyist, whether they
are incorporated / registred / whatever or not.

I'm not so sure. Someone that decides to get rid of their collection may
pick up multiple sales in a week, and go on for a few months like that.

Let me rephrase: Saying “feedback is unrelated” is a nonsense because high feedback
is a strong clue of the seller being a professional.
Yes, you can always contrive examples for which a general rule doesn’t apply
but this rule applies and is used by the IRS/HMRS/DGFIP/… when they decide to
go after you.


   Whereas
a business may get few sales per week. It may not be a very good business, but
still a business if they buy to sell for profit.

Note that I didn’t say a low feedback/revenue indicates the seller is a hobbyist.
Indeed, in another thread, I told a seller their not making money was irrelevant
to their professional status.


Some people (mainly from Common Law countries) tend to argue things aren’t “legal”
or “illegal” until they have been judged as such in a court.
For some people, the “hobbyist status” is a bit like that: as the IRS/HMRS/DGFIP/…
hasn’t yet pounced on them or their fellows, they strongly believe the status
exists and applies to them.

As MarieA says, a seller claiming to be hobbyist while they clearly are not is
a strong clue they won’t follow other rules, like consumer laws.

And yes, I’m pretty sure there are actual hobbyists who have a better customer
services than big professional sellers but Pro vs. Hobby is a bit like New vs.
Used: it’s not a question of aspect / experience, it’s a question of status.

Great comment Sylvain. Especially the last paragraph!
Bon nuit!
Martin
 Author: Addict2Brick View Messages Posted By Addict2Brick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 12:56
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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Addict2Brick (626)

Location:  USA, Florida
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 30, 2017 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: I'm addicted to plastic
In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
  In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
  In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

Why does the way that this site works strike you as odd? You realize that this
concept is not founded by Bricklink but almost any site where multiple people
can come to one place and sell their stuff. Ebay immediately comes to my mind
but others as well. I belong to other sites where I sell stuff and some people
are hobbyists that use their excess product to fund their hobby and some are
their to pay the bills.

I feel like anyone that actually visits these shops and spends more than a minute
can easily tell a "professional" shop from a small time hobbyist. If someone
can't then they only really have themselves to blame for not spending the
time educating themselves.

You can usually spot a business a mile away. Whether the seller themselves is
legit or not, is something entirely different. Assuming I have certain rights
is one thing, having the 'business'; declare whether they are a business
or not confirms it.

If an obvious business declares themselves a personal seller, this would set
alarm bells ringing. If they're not declaring their trade, what chance they'll
allow you your legal consumer rights if something goes wrong?

That's what PayPal is for.

What if what you bought became faulty and the seller didn't want to know?
PayPal wouldn't necessarily refund in such a case, yet consumer law (in the
EU at least) would hold the retailer responsible for putting it right. PayPal
makes invoking some rights easier, but not all.

If the Lego becomes faulty? I'm unsure exactly how you mean.
 Author: Brick.Door View Messages Posted By Brick.Door
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 11:41
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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Brick.Door (7529)

Location:  USA, New York
Member Since Contact Type Status
Sep 24, 2010 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Brick Door
There was a long thread recently asking what attributes buyers are looking for
in a seller. I don't think most buyers would care about whether the seller
is a person or a business, they care how quickly and accurately orders are filled.

But really it should be Bricklink asking these questions of all buyers. Find
out what they really want, and have a special class of "preferred" or "gold star"
sellers that meet these criteria.

Also the feedback system could use an upgrade. Calculating the % praise to 2
decimal places doesn't really to much to separate the good from the best.
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 10:58
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  […]
Yes, and that is the problem if there is a strict numerical definition of a business.
If BL allowed a seller to make two transactions a week, up to 100 per year, then
a number of stores would make sure they stay just under those limits. Either
by closing each week after two sales, or having a high minimum that they reduce
through the week until they get their two orders, then a massive high minimum
order after two, and so on.

But the suggestion is just about a “I’m a hobbyist/business” declaration, not
about fixing limits.

I haven’t voted on it yet. The advantages aren’t obvious. I can only see two:
1. Someone saying “I’m a hobbyist” while selling New, with hundreds of FB, is
fishy. But we can already spot them in other ways.
2. Someone saying “I’m a business” while having only a few FB might gain a tiny
bit of trust.

The problems seem more easy to see, mainly steming from the definitions being
unclear and not universal.
 Author: yorbrick View Messages Posted By yorbrick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 10:37
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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yorbrick (1185)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 11, 2011 Contact Member Seller
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Store: Yorbricks
  And I can not even leave an appropriate feedback when I get completely screwed
over by a 'professional' seller. Because I will often get stoplisted,
and that would hurt my business in the long run. There are few stores that would
have a fair number of very well deserved negatives from me, but I am still finding
myself having to buy from them from time to time.

That doesn't have anything to do with them being business vs private though,
is it?

And if you are completely screwed over by them, not just a little screwed over
but completely, why buy from them again?
 Author: yorbrick View Messages Posted By yorbrick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 10:31
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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yorbrick (1185)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 11, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Yorbricks
In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  […]
Maybe it varies from country to country, but it is a business if they bought
those parts with the intention of selling them. Even if they bought them for
4 cents and make no profit on each sale, or 10 cents and make a loss each time.

Similarly a person selling a €500 set could perfectly legitimately not be a business.
If they bought a set and it has been part of their collection and they decide
they no longer want it and sell it, then they are not trading as a business.
The value doesn't matter when it comes to whether they are a business.

Yes.

I know of an ex-car dealer who was bored with his job and quit but continued
to buy and sell used cars as an individual for a couple of years (then he was
re-hired as a “seller extraordinary” because he was that good). He knew the
rules pretty well and limited himself to less than (I think it’s) ten cars a
year. Buy a used car, keep it a few weeks, sell the car. He managed to make
a hefty profit. All legal, and not as a pro.

There also is the Airbnb model (which is greatly abused): the law allows you
to rent your home 120 days a year. It’s not question of profit or value. The
time limit says when your “home” isn’t a home anymore but a hotel room.

Yes, and that is the problem if there is a strict numerical definition of a business.
If BL allowed a seller to make two transactions a week, up to 100 per year, then
a number of stores would make sure they stay just under those limits. Either
by closing each week after two sales, or having a high minimum that they reduce
through the week until they get their two orders, then a massive high minimum
order after two, and so on.
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 10:22
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, enig writes:
  It is more than just black and white, hobby vs private vs business.

Take my store for example. I am operating under a 'private business license'.
As in - I am using my real name for absolutely everything - there is no business
name. All the transactions are going through my 'personal' accounts.
But yes, I am using 'business' PayPal account.

Yes, this is called being self-employed in some countries, acting as an independent
in some others, etc. It's a common occurrence used by some professionals
too (some doctors remain independents despite the inherent fiscal risks). In
terms of most consumer law, and many other areas of law (such as health and safety,
employers laws, etc.) such people are still treated as a business.

  I do have an employee, however I am also operating below the threshold where
I am obliged to register as a VAT payer. So as far as VAT matters are concerned
in EU business to business transactions - I can not deduct VAT, and all the goods
and services that I am buying are also VAT inclusive, where applicable.

One more interesting point - in Lithuania there is a law that allows two very
specific exceptions regarding the return of (purchased) goods. Toys and Child
Clothing are *not returnable*. Even if still brand new in sealed packaging, and
you have done nothing but walked out and walked back into the store a minute
later.

As an expert in EU consumer law, I frankly don't believe this. Used clothing,
fair enough, but brand new toys in their original packaging? Doubtful.

  So would I get classified as a business, or as a private seller? Am I a professional
seller? This is the single source of income for me and my employee, so I guess
it would be a 'yes'. Am I on par with some of the super-sellers here?
No.

As far as customer service between private and hobby sellers goes.. most hobby
sellers will actually provide a much better customer service than some of the
businesses here at BL.

I completely agree with this. 'Hobbyist' sellers - whether recognised
in law or not - would be expected to provide greater attention to detail for
one thing, and probably a bigger sense of pride in dealing with orders the way
they would want their own purchases to be dealt with.

  And I can not even leave an appropriate feedback when I get completely screwed
over by a 'professional' seller. Because I will often get stoplisted,
and that would hurt my business in the long run. There are few stores that would
have a fair number of very well deserved negatives from me, but I am still finding
myself having to buy from them from time to time.
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 10:17
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
  In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

Why does the way that this site works strike you as odd? You realize that this
concept is not founded by Bricklink but almost any site where multiple people
can come to one place and sell their stuff. Ebay immediately comes to my mind
but others as well. I belong to other sites where I sell stuff and some people
are hobbyists that use their excess product to fund their hobby and some are
their to pay the bills.

I feel like anyone that actually visits these shops and spends more than a minute
can easily tell a "professional" shop from a small time hobbyist. If someone
can't then they only really have themselves to blame for not spending the
time educating themselves.

You can usually spot a business a mile away. Whether the seller themselves is
legit or not, is something entirely different. Assuming I have certain rights
is one thing, having the 'business'; declare whether they are a business
or not confirms it.

If an obvious business declares themselves a personal seller, this would set
alarm bells ringing. If they're not declaring their trade, what chance they'll
allow you your legal consumer rights if something goes wrong?

That's what PayPal is for.

What if what you bought became faulty and the seller didn't want to know?
PayPal wouldn't necessarily refund in such a case, yet consumer law (in the
EU at least) would hold the retailer responsible for putting it right. PayPal
makes invoking some rights easier, but not all.
 Author: enig View Messages Posted By enig
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 10:11
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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 Topic: Suggestions
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enig (6343)

Location:  Lithuania, Panevėžys
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 3, 2012 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: enigma bricks - CHEAP S&H!
It is more than just black and white, hobby vs private vs business.

Take my store for example. I am operating under a 'private business license'.
As in - I am using my real name for absolutely everything - there is no business
name. All the transactions are going through my 'personal' accounts.
But yes, I am using 'business' PayPal account.

I do have an employee, however I am also operating below the threshold where
I am obliged to register as a VAT payer. So as far as VAT matters are concerned
in EU business to business transactions - I can not deduct VAT, and all the goods
and services that I am buying are also VAT inclusive, where applicable.

One more interesting point - in Lithuania there is a law that allows two very
specific exceptions regarding the return of (purchased) goods. Toys and Child
Clothing are *not returnable*. Even if still brand new in sealed packaging, and
you have done nothing but walked out and walked back into the store a minute
later.

So would I get classified as a business, or as a private seller? Am I a professional
seller? This is the single source of income for me and my employee, so I guess
it would be a 'yes'. Am I on par with some of the super-sellers here?
No.

As far as customer service between private and hobby sellers goes.. most hobby
sellers will actually provide a much better customer service than some of the
businesses here at BL.

And I can not even leave an appropriate feedback when I get completely screwed
over by a 'professional' seller. Because I will often get stoplisted,
and that would hurt my business in the long run. There are few stores that would
have a fair number of very well deserved negatives from me, but I am still finding
myself having to buy from them from time to time.
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 09:50
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  […]
Maybe it varies from country to country, but it is a business if they bought
those parts with the intention of selling them. Even if they bought them for
4 cents and make no profit on each sale, or 10 cents and make a loss each time.

Similarly a person selling a €500 set could perfectly legitimately not be a business.
If they bought a set and it has been part of their collection and they decide
they no longer want it and sell it, then they are not trading as a business.
The value doesn't matter when it comes to whether they are a business.

Yes.

I know of an ex-car dealer who was bored with his job and quit but continued
to buy and sell used cars as an individual for a couple of years (then he was
re-hired as a “seller extraordinary” because he was that good). He knew the
rules pretty well and limited himself to less than (I think it’s) ten cars a
year. Buy a used car, keep it a few weeks, sell the car. He managed to make
a hefty profit. All legal, and not as a pro.

There also is the Airbnb model (which is greatly abused): the law allows you
to rent your home 120 days a year. It’s not question of profit or value. The
time limit says when your “home” isn’t a home anymore but a hotel room.
 Author: Addict2Brick View Messages Posted By Addict2Brick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 09:41
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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Addict2Brick (626)

Location:  USA, Florida
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 30, 2017 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: I'm addicted to plastic
In Suggestions, MarieA writes:
  In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

Why does the way that this site works strike you as odd? You realize that this
concept is not founded by Bricklink but almost any site where multiple people
can come to one place and sell their stuff. Ebay immediately comes to my mind
but others as well. I belong to other sites where I sell stuff and some people
are hobbyists that use their excess product to fund their hobby and some are
their to pay the bills.

I feel like anyone that actually visits these shops and spends more than a minute
can easily tell a "professional" shop from a small time hobbyist. If someone
can't then they only really have themselves to blame for not spending the
time educating themselves.

You can usually spot a business a mile away. Whether the seller themselves is
legit or not, is something entirely different. Assuming I have certain rights
is one thing, having the 'business'; declare whether they are a business
or not confirms it.

If an obvious business declares themselves a personal seller, this would set
alarm bells ringing. If they're not declaring their trade, what chance they'll
allow you your legal consumer rights if something goes wrong?

That's what PayPal is for.
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 09:35
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  […]
That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.

Nonsense. A “hobbyist” with several sales a week isn’t a hobbyist, whether they
are incorporated / registred / whatever or not.

I'm not so sure. Someone that decides to get rid of their collection may
pick up multiple sales in a week, and go on for a few months like that.

Let me rephrase: Saying “feedback is unrelated” is a nonsense because high feedback
is a strong clue of the seller being a professional.
Yes, you can always contrive examples for which a general rule doesn’t apply
but this rule applies and is used by the IRS/HMRS/DGFIP/… when they decide to
go after you.


   Whereas
a business may get few sales per week. It may not be a very good business, but
still a business if they buy to sell for profit.

Note that I didn’t say a low feedback/revenue indicates the seller is a hobbyist.
Indeed, in another thread, I told a seller their not making money was irrelevant
to their professional status.


Some people (mainly from Common Law countries) tend to argue things aren’t “legal”
or “illegal” until they have been judged as such in a court.
For some people, the “hobbyist status” is a bit like that: as the IRS/HMRS/DGFIP/…
hasn’t yet pounced on them or their fellows, they strongly believe the status
exists and applies to them.

As MarieA says, a seller claiming to be hobbyist while they clearly are not is
a strong clue they won’t follow other rules, like consumer laws.

And yes, I’m pretty sure there are actual hobbyists who have a better customer
services than big professional sellers but Pro vs. Hobby is a bit like New vs.
Used: it’s not a question of aspect / experience, it’s a question of status.
 Author: yorbrick View Messages Posted By yorbrick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 09:32
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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yorbrick (1185)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 11, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Yorbricks
In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:
  In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  […]
That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.

Nonsense. A “hobbyist” with several sales a week isn’t a hobbyist, whether they
are incorporated / registred / whatever or not.

Several sales a week of a €0,04 part doesn't make it a business.
The ordervalue is more important than amount of sales.

Maybe it varies from country to country, but it is a business if they bought
those parts with the intention of selling them. Even if they bought them for
4 cents and make no profit on each sale, or 10 cents and make a loss each time.

Similarly a person selling a €500 set could perfectly legitimately not be a business.
If they bought a set and it has been part of their collection and they decide
they no longer want it and sell it, then they are not trading as a business.
The value doesn't matter when it comes to whether they are a business.
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 09:27
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 49 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, Brickwilbo writes:
  In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  […]
That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.

Nonsense. A “hobbyist” with several sales a week isn’t a hobbyist, whether they
are incorporated / registred / whatever or not.

Several sales a week of a €0,04 part doesn't make it a business.
The ordervalue is more important than amount of sales.

Intent, not volume or value, is usually the primary concern. If you buy with
the specific intention of selling all or part of what you've bought, you
are engaged in a trade. This would usually be enough to warrant registering as
a trader with the authorities, irrespective of the number of sales, profit made,
etc.
 Author: Brickwilbo View Messages Posted By Brickwilbo
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 09:25
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 49 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Brickwilbo (1534)

Location:  Netherlands, Gelderland
Member Since Contact Type Status Collage
Oct 24, 2007 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
View Collage Pic
Store Closed Store: Brickwilbo Betuwe Bricks
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  […]
That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.

Nonsense. A “hobbyist” with several sales a week isn’t a hobbyist, whether they
are incorporated / registred / whatever or not.

Several sales a week of a €0,04 part doesn't make it a business.
The ordervalue is more important than amount of sales.
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 09:04
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 41 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, Speg writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

Why does the way that this site works strike you as odd? You realize that this
concept is not founded by Bricklink but almost any site where multiple people
can come to one place and sell their stuff. Ebay immediately comes to my mind
but others as well. I belong to other sites where I sell stuff and some people
are hobbyists that use their excess product to fund their hobby and some are
their to pay the bills.

I feel like anyone that actually visits these shops and spends more than a minute
can easily tell a "professional" shop from a small time hobbyist. If someone
can't then they only really have themselves to blame for not spending the
time educating themselves.

You can usually spot a business a mile away. Whether the seller themselves is
legit or not, is something entirely different. Assuming I have certain rights
is one thing, having the 'business'; declare whether they are a business
or not confirms it.

If an obvious business declares themselves a personal seller, this would set
alarm bells ringing. If they're not declaring their trade, what chance they'll
allow you your legal consumer rights if something goes wrong?
 Author: Brickwilbo View Messages Posted By Brickwilbo
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 08:53
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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 Topic: Suggestions
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Brickwilbo (1534)

Location:  Netherlands, Gelderland
Member Since Contact Type Status Collage
Oct 24, 2007 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
View Collage Pic
Store Closed Store: Brickwilbo Betuwe Bricks
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

The not differentiating between stores is one of the charmes of Bricklink.
Buyers have the most chance to find the parts they need.
 Author: yorbrick View Messages Posted By yorbrick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 08:52
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 58 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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yorbrick (1185)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 11, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Yorbricks
In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  […]
That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.

Nonsense. A “hobbyist” with several sales a week isn’t a hobbyist, whether they
are incorporated / registred / whatever or not.

I'm not so sure. Someone that decides to get rid of their collection may
pick up multiple sales in a week, and go on for a few months like that. Whereas
a business may get few sales per week. It may not be a very good business, but
still a business if they buy to sell for profit.
 Author: SylvainLS View Messages Posted By SylvainLS
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 08:41
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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 Topic: Suggestions
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SylvainLS (46)

Location:  France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 25, 2014 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: BuyerOnly
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  […]
That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.

Nonsense. A “hobbyist” with several sales a week isn’t a hobbyist, whether they
are incorporated / registred / whatever or not.
 Author: Addict2Brick View Messages Posted By Addict2Brick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 08:33
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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Addict2Brick (626)

Location:  USA, Florida
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 30, 2017 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: I'm addicted to plastic
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

Why does the way that this site works strike you as odd? You realize that this
concept is not founded by Bricklink but almost any site where multiple people
can come to one place and sell their stuff. Ebay immediately comes to my mind
but others as well. I belong to other sites where I sell stuff and some people
are hobbyists that use their excess product to fund their hobby and some are
their to pay the bills.

I feel like anyone that actually visits these shops and spends more than a minute
can easily tell a "professional" shop from a small time hobbyist. If someone
can't then they only really have themselves to blame for not spending the
time educating themselves.
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 08:23
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, WhiteHorseMatt writes:
  In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:

From the point of view of the Internal Revenue Service if
  you are engaged in any activity for the purpose of making a profit, you are in
business and should be reporting that revenue and paying taxes on it. There are
exceptions for "hobbyists," but even there the line is not so clear.


It is the same in the UK. If you are offering goods for sale with the intent
to make a profit, then the income is taxeable and should be declared. So arguably
everyone in the UK listing new bricks for sale would fall under this.

In the UK, all gains are subject to tax unless the law explicitly says otherwise
(ISA interest, gambling wins, etc.). Most people listing new bricks for sale
would be considered a trader, but not all. It's perfectly possible for someone
to buy a set with the intention of building it at some point, only to then leave
it open but unused in a cupboard for years. Selling the bricks in this case wouldn't
be considered a trade and would only attract tax if the gain was so large as
to attract Capital Gains tax.

  The Inland Revenue does not want people on a small turnover setting up as a business,
declaring a loss, and claiming tax back from their main job. The figure I had
quoted to me was £2K turnover.

This isn't true though I've often heard similar things said. People often
say that their BL trade is a hobby and that they're not a business. This
isn't true (at least in the UK). 'Income from a hobby' isn't
a thing under UK law - the only time UK law mentions income from a hobby is when
it precludes losses from the hobby from being set against other income. That's
it. Anyone engaging in a trade should register with HMRC, losses or not.

  The other implication of being a registered business vs just a guy, is consumer
protection legistlation. In EU for example, you have a right to return as part
of distance selling law, and lots of protection regarding description of goods,
being fit for purpose etc. This is completely different if you are buying business
to business, and many of the protections we rely on as a consumer just don't
apply.

This is precisely why the OP's suggestion has merit. If you're a consumer,
knowing who you're buying from - and the resulting rights arising from that
transaction, can only be a benefit.
 Author: WhiteHorseMatt View Messages Posted By WhiteHorseMatt
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 08:10
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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WhiteHorseMatt (1432)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Oct 3, 2010 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: White Horse Bricks
In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:

From the point of view of the Internal Revenue Service if
  you are engaged in any activity for the purpose of making a profit, you are in
business and should be reporting that revenue and paying taxes on it. There are
exceptions for "hobbyists," but even there the line is not so clear.


It is the same in the UK. If you are offering goods for sale with the intent
to make a profit, then the income is taxeable and should be declared. So arguably
everyone in the UK listing new bricks for sale would fall under this.

The Inland Revenue does not want people on a small turnover setting up as a business,
declaring a loss, and claiming tax back from their main job. The figure I had
quoted to me was £2K turnover.

The other implication of being a registered business vs just a guy, is consumer
protection legistlation. In EU for example, you have a right to return as part
of distance selling law, and lots of protection regarding description of goods,
being fit for purpose etc. This is completely different if you are buying business
to business, and many of the protections we rely on as a consumer just don't
apply.
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 08:02
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
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 Topic: Suggestions
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, axaday writes:
  I have no idea what the point would be. Would Bricklink have two sets of policies
and minimum standards?

In many jurisdictions, buyers have vastly different rights depending on whether
or not they're buying from a private individual or a business.

  
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 08:00
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 50 times
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, 62Bricks writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

In the US it is not so clear cut whether an individual selling Lego online is
a business or not. From the point of view of the Internal Revenue Service if
you are engaged in any activity for the purpose of making a profit, you are in
business

Sounds pretty clear cut to me.

  ...and should be reporting that revenue and paying taxes on it. There are
exceptions for "hobbyists," but even there the line is not so clear.

https://www.irs.gov/faqs/small-business-self-employed-other-business/income-expenses/income-expenses

To my mind

Surely it's the law that counts, not personal opinion?

  , the difference between professional and amateur is the manner of
doing business, not the size or tax settings. Anyone can get a tax permit, but
it doesn't mean they're going to run a professional business. Likewise,
a person who is only plowing his revenue back into buying more Lego and meets
the definition of a hobbyist can offer very professional service.

So I think any distinction would be meaningless. Let the feedback rating serve
this purpose.
 Author: nectara View Messages Posted By nectara
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 07:54
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 57 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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nectara (6580)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Dec 14, 2015 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: LondonBricks
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?



You don't really need a complex wine with pasta dishes; a fruity, often hearty,
rustic wine is often a good accompaniment. Tomato sauce based pasta dishes like
lasagne and spaghetti bolognese pair well with red wines with refreshing acidity–
try a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, young Chianti, or Barbera.
 Author: axaday View Messages Posted By axaday
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 07:44
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 52 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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axaday (7303)

Location:  USA, Oklahoma
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 28, 2005 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Axaday
I have no idea what the point would be. Would Bricklink have two sets of policies
and minimum standards?

In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?
 Author: 62Bricks View Messages Posted By 62Bricks
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 07:42
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 60 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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62Bricks (1455)

Location:  USA, Missouri
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jan 27, 2002 Member Does Not Allow Contact Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: 62 Bricks
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.

In the US it is not so clear cut whether an individual selling Lego online is
a business or not. From the point of view of the Internal Revenue Service if
you are engaged in any activity for the purpose of making a profit, you are in
business and should be reporting that revenue and paying taxes on it. There are
exceptions for "hobbyists," but even there the line is not so clear.

https://www.irs.gov/faqs/small-business-self-employed-other-business/income-expenses/income-expenses

To my mind, the difference between professional and amateur is the manner of
doing business, not the size or tax settings. Anyone can get a tax permit, but
it doesn't mean they're going to run a professional business. Likewise,
a person who is only plowing his revenue back into buying more Lego and meets
the definition of a hobbyist can offer very professional service.

So I think any distinction would be meaningless. Let the feedback rating serve
this purpose.
 Author: bb414973 View Messages Posted By bb414973
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 07:28
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 63 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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bb414973 (189)

Location:  Belgium, Flemish Brabant
Member Since Contact Type Status
Aug 3, 2013 Contact Member Buyer
No Longer Registered
No Longer Registered
In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:
  I don't think it would improve anything, and may actually allow what are
in reality businesses to hide behind the personal tab.

Many do already by omission or ignorance, at least this way there'd be an
active choice for every seller to make.
 Author: Teup View Messages Posted By Teup
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 07:22
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 67 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Teup (6606)

Location:  Netherlands, Utrecht
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 6, 2004 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: BLOKJESKONING
In Suggestions, WoutR writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.

Well, either you are a business or you're not, legally that's quite
clear-cut. As for the point of hiding a business as you and yorbrick pointed
out, that is a potential reason why it isn't perfect, but that still means
it is an improvement over the current situation. Also, there's no huge incentive
to hide, as many buyers may prefer real shops and also it would look pretty shady
if the seller has a big store or alot of feedback. Also, Vat and sales tax settings
should instantly cause the seller to be labelled professional. Not all professional
sellers use these features, though, so if I were a buyer I would like something
that includes professional sellers without tax settings and that would be immediately
visible and even could be filtered by. Right now Bricklink is a mall of actual
shops and people having little garage sales and from the front end there's
no difference. That strikes me as odd.
 Author: Teup View Messages Posted By Teup
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 07:13
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 85 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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Teup (6606)

Location:  Netherlands, Utrecht
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 6, 2004 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: BLOKJESKONING
In Suggestions, jethroo writes:
  In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

there is already this lovely brick next to the username

That's feedback and it's unrelated There are businesses with low feedback
scores and hobbyists with high scores. It doesn't tell you anything about
the legal form of the transaction.
 Author: WoutR View Messages Posted By WoutR
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 07:01
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 79 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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WoutR (920)

Location:  Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
Member Since Contact Type Status
Mar 8, 2011 Contact Member Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

Who will judge? The seller? I think that there are many professional sellers
who are pretending to be private. To be a business, you don't need to be
large, full-time or making a living wage.
 Author: yorbrick View Messages Posted By yorbrick
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 04:49
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 83 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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yorbrick (1185)

Location:  United Kingdom, England
Member Since Contact Type Status
Apr 11, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: Yorbricks
I don't think it would improve anything, and may actually allow what are
in reality businesses to hide behind the personal tab.
 Author: jethroo View Messages Posted By jethroo
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 04:46
 Subject: Re: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 118 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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jethroo (1624)

Location:  Germany, Brandenburg
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 29, 2011 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: sum-of-its-parts
In Suggestions, Teup writes:
  I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?

there is already this lovely brick next to the username
 Author: Teup View Messages Posted By Teup
 Posted: Mar 7, 2018 04:33
 Subject: Separate professional and private sellers
 Viewed: 369 times
 Topic: Suggestions
 Status:Open
 Vote:[Yes|No]
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Teup (6606)

Location:  Netherlands, Utrecht
Member Since Contact Type Status
May 6, 2004 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store: BLOKJESKONING
I have no real personal reason to be posting this suggestion and haven't
thought about what it would mean for my own business, but just something I want
to throw out there as I've been thinking about it for a while.

Why not separate professional sellers and private sellers? I mean with an icon,
a label, a colour, something like that. Right now there are private persons just
getting rid of some old parts they aren't using, and online stores that use
Bricklink as their platform. An entirely different world in every aspect, but
they will show up in exactly the same way.

For years and years there's this eternal clash going on between buyers and
sellers and it seems like they sometimes speak different languages when the buyers
demand "their rights" and the seller has no idea what they're talking about.
Much if not most of the grief going on on Bricklink may be caused by buyers buying
from private sellers and expecting business service. The main example I can think
of now is about whose problem it is when a package is lost, but also tax and
refund issues get confusing if it's unclear whether we're talking about
two people trading or about consumer rights.

So how about labels for private sellers and professional sellers?
 Author: renhoffman View Messages Posted By renhoffman
 Posted: Mar 6, 2018 08:09
 Subject: Re: Search Locally
 Viewed: 30 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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renhoffman (7659)

Location:  USA, North Carolina
Member Since Contact Type Status
Feb 3, 2001 Contact Member Seller
Buying Privileges - OKSelling Privileges - OK
Store Closed Store: Rens Brick Room
BrickLink Discussions Moderator (?)
In Suggestions, ZacharyWathen97 writes:
  In Suggestions, renhoffman writes:
  In Suggestions, RobNeptune writes:
  As someone often buys pieces for a project in progress, I wanted to suggest that
the search feature allow you to filter by local sellers. This typically provides
a faster delivery, including occasions where I have been able to meet someone
nearby the same day.

I agree, an option to show sellers within a certain area would be nice, for example,
within 50 miles. When I lived in western NY, I was probably asked twice a year
if I could meet someone in NYC, a 7 hour drive each way.

Darren

7 hours? That is what it took for me to move from Kentucky to Kansas City almost
six years ago. I passed through from the south of Illinois to St. Louis, then
straight across the northern part of Missouri.

Buffalo to NYC is 374 miles, 6 hours 30 minutes right now, according to Google
maps .
 Author: PurpleDave View Messages Posted By PurpleDave
 Posted: Mar 6, 2018 04:44
 Subject: Re: Search Locally
 Viewed: 23 times
 Topic: Suggestions
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PurpleDave (969)

Location:  USA, Michigan
Member Since Contact Type Status
Jun 28, 2003 Member Does Not Allow Contact Buyer
Buying Privileges - OK
In Suggestions, renhoffman writes:
  I agree, an option to show sellers within a certain area would be nice, for example,
within 50 miles. When I lived in western NY, I was probably asked twice a year
if I could meet someone in NYC, a 7 hour drive each way.

My favorite example of misunderstood geographic scale in the US (in part because
it shows how full of it foreigners are for griefing us over lack of world geography
knowledge) was a story that a friend of mine from college loved to tell. His
family lives in western Michigan, and had relatives visiting from Germany. They
thought it might make a nice day trip to go check out the Grand Canyon.

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